Lessons of School, Lessons of Life (Eeth Koth & Raven Trebeck)
by SWFicWriters
Summary: Sequel to 'Of Ceremonies, Stampedes and Assassins'. Raven continues her journey to knighthood. When Eeth receives an unexpected assignment, she has to take a leap of faith… Warning: This story contains spanking scenes of a non-sexual, disciplinary nature and occasional coarse language. Don't enjoy, don't read. We do not endorse the spanking of real children. This is fiction.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey to all who have followed us, and to any new faces. During the past year (and wow, yeah, we've been rewriting these stories for over a year now. How time flies when you're having fun!) we've been editing stories that originated as online role-playing, situated in our alternative Star Wars universe – well, mainly the universe of Episode One, pretending that the tragedy of the Great Jedi Purge never happened! Ahem. In this, the fourth story that focuses on Eeth and Raven, we pick up a few months ahead of where we left off in Ceremonies, Stampedes and Assassins. Our Jedi have spent almost a year working as a team, Raven is about to turn twelve and will be forced into making some major progress in her development as a Jedi, well before she believes she is ready.

There are approximately twenty-five stories pre-written in this series. Although each story can stand alone, it might be a better reading experience to start from the beginning with "Of Padawans Fake and True".

And now for the housekeeping. We realise that our master characters, especially Eeth, will at times come across as harsh to some. However, please keep in mind that this is a fictional universe in which teenagers with extraordinary, potentially lethal abilities are raised to do an incredibly hard, dangerous and responsible job. Their masters feel an obligation to keep them in line in order to protect them and others by various types of discipline, including corporal punishment, i.e., spanking with the hand and different implements. And sometimes, they will need to dispense with the cuddling and tell their charges to do their duty. These are teenagers, after all, not small children. There will always be times to offer comfort and moments of closeness between master and padawan, but they might sometimes have to wait. Plus, masters might have their own issues … which is certainly true for Eeth. His journey with Raven is a learning experience for him as much as for his padawan. Fortunately for our padawans, our master characters have near-magical healing abilities at their disposal, allowing us to indulge our preference for strict discipline.

We do realise that this will not be everybody's cup of tea, and suggest that you not read our writing if it's going to upset you. We would also like to assure you that our story arcs are detailed and well thought out. There will always be character development, depth and growth through all our stories. If you like them, (or if you don't like them), let us know in a review; we love to hear what you guys think. Okay, so here we go. Enjoy.

* * *

A couple of months had passed since the mission to Fenesteer where Raven had taken it upon herself to interpret Eeth's orders to suit and entered into a dangerous situation. This had almost resulted in both of them losing their lives. It had been a hard lesson to learn, but Eeth had made the punishment suitably dire to ensure that Raven thought long and hard before doing something like that ever again. At the time Raven had thought she wasn't going to survive the week of restrictions, but she had, and soon enough things had settled into a comfortable routine of classes, workouts and other training. Eeth also took her into the city quite frequently. Of course, these outings merely provided additional training and had nothing to do with the fact that his padawan happened to enjoy them…

* * *

"Padawan," said Eeth, raising his head as Raven entered their quarters Wednesday afternoon, coming home from classes. He was sitting at the terminal. Lunch was already on the table; he had prepared a spicy vegetable stew that Raven enjoyed.

"Wash your hands," he told her. "Lunch is ready. Afterwards, we will go into the city. I have just booked us tickets to a special exhibition on sea mammals at the aquarium that will be very educational. We will have dinner in the vicinity and then return to the Temple."

"For real! Wahooo!" Raven wooted, jumping up and firing off a few air punches. Today was Raven's twelfth birthday. However, she had resigned herself to the fact that the only acknowledgement of this was going to be the passing 'happy birthday' Eeth had given her upon waking. Granted, a padawan turning twelve was no cause for a big celebration by Jedi standards; it was their thirteenth birthday that was significant.

Of course, Eeth would never admit that he was doing this for Raven's birthday. A birthday, in his opinion, was no reason to slack off. The aquarium was a purely educational experience. And while they were in the area, it would simply be more practical do have dinner at that new Chalactan stir-fry place than going back to the Temple!

One hour later, they were making their way to the speeder garage.

"I registered you for a class on combat strategy," Eeth remarked in passing. "Every Sunday for the next eight weeks. The teacher is Master She'am."

Raven looked over at him, surprised. "Why?" It was a fair enough question. Classes on Sunday weren't exactly new to her, but this one was not in the standard syllabus. At least as far as she knew.

"It is quite a unique opportunity," replied Eeth, garnering a curious brow from Raven. "Master She'am is an extremely experienced master strategist and slots in this class are hard to come by. It only takes place every six or seven cycles, as Master She'am is rarely available. His classes cover exactly what you tried to do in your hand-to-hand combat exam – reacting to unforeseen situations in a flexible manner. You will be teamed up with other padawans and confronted with various types of difficult situations, either in the Temple or outside or even off-planet, and your team will be required to master them by all available means that you can think of. Your strategies will be discussed afterwards, and there will be drills to improve them. it is a very well-designed class that is taught at a high standard, and I think you would greatly benefit from it and find it rather engaging. I should also mention that passing Master She'am's class is often considered a sign that a padawan can be trusted to accompany her master on more dangerous or challenging missions. There are no guarantees, of course, but if you are interested in being assigned more action-oriented missions in the near future, Master She'am's class might be helpful. It will not be an easy challenge for you to meet, though. Students in this class are usually around fourteen to sixteen years old. However, given your general aptitude at sparring and other physical training, I am confident that you will manage. Else I would not have registered you."

He picked a speeder, took the ignition control, opened it and motioned for Raven to get in.

Of all that Eeth had just told her, hearing that passing master She'am's class meant that she might be trusted for more dangerous missions was what stood out most to Raven. After all, their last mission had been a complete debacle that still caused her guilt. Maybe completing this class would be a way to start regaining the Council's, and more importantly, Eeth's trust? Of course, there was the inevitable limitation that it would put on her social life but Raven thought that a small inconvenience, especially given what she hoped to achieve. "I can do it. I won't disappoint you, I promise," Raven said confidently. She had always done very well at such classes and she expected this one, although challenging, would not be more than she could handle. Besides, Raven was eager to prove herself to Eeth, and this would be a good way of doing that, or so she thought.

"I know," said Eeth simply. He thought that Raven would be good at this class, and this class would be good for Raven. The space it allowed for creativity matched her independent personality. At the same time, she would have to learn to think more carefully of the consequences of her actions and to curb her impulsiveness. And she would, for the first time, work in a team where she needed to find support for her ideas. Eeth thought it very likely that, given enough time and training, Raven would become a very competent team leader. Classes like Master She'am's would help her achieve that goal.

Raven smiled, pleased that Eeth was willing to believe in her, even after she had put him in such danger during the last mission. They were silent for a long moment, wherein Eeth piloted them into the correct lane. "What do you know about Master She'am?" There were a couple of reasons for this question. Firstly, after master Rool's class, the padawan was a little wary of combat instructors. Sure, she had liked Rool, admired him even, not that she would ever admit it, but he had also flunked her out of semantics. Raven had not appreciated that, even if she had been in the wrong.

"He is an Abyssin," said Eeth, "and they can reach a very old age. Master She'am has 150 years of mission experience to look back on, and he is still quite fit."

"A hundred and fifty years! Eesh, the guy is a fossil," Raven remarked, her expression contemplative. She didn't know a lot about Abyssin as a species, except for the fact that they tended to have a swarthy greenish skin and had one single, split-pupiled eyeball in the middle of their foreheads. Well, now she could add long-lived to her list. Given that Raven had just turned twelve years old, she had never really considered her own mortality. She looked over at Eeth. He didn't look it, but he was forty-three, and it had her wondering. "How old do Zabrak live? I mean, when you don't have crazy padawan's trying to get you killed and all..." Raven made light of her failure, but deep down the guilt over having almost gotten them both killed still niggled at her.

"Zabrak are fairly similar to humans in that respect," Eeth replied, steering the speeder towards the gate of a parking lot. "Most of us die around 100 to 120 years, if we get to die a natural death. Which not all Jedi do. And that is rarely due to crazy padawans."

The corner of Raven's lip curled into a very slight smile at this. "I guess. Master Fenya died of old age, there is hope for us yet," she quipped, and then her expression turned contemplative again. "Are you scared of how you will die?" she asked, curious.

Eeth shook his head as he parked the speeder in a bay. "No," he said simply. "Whatever happens, it will be the will of the Force. If the Force wills for me to die prematurely, though, the only thing I am hoping for is that it will not be a pointless death." Eeth had seen too much pointless death during his early childhood. He had a hard time forgetting about it, much as he wanted to.

Personally, Raven hoped that he didn't die at all, as unreasonable and futile a thought that was. He was right, though, it was the Force that decided such things, and so she was satisfied with that topic for now. Excited, the padawan vaulted from their speeder, landing near the front end, and bounced impatiently while waiting. Eeth had brought her to this aquarium a handful of times over the last year. The special exhibition on sea mammals, however, was totally new.

And it was indeed informative, even to Eeth, not least because the guides had been recruited from sentient aquatic species who were ready to answer questions about their anatomy and the make-up of aquatic mammal species on their homeworld. The aquarium presented some of the smaller sea mammals in large tanks and had extremely realistic holographic simulations for many of the larger ones. Consequently, it was only when the aquarium was about to close for the night that they finally headed towards the exit.

"I thought we could go to the Chalactan stir-fry place around the corner," Eeth told Raven. "Their food is exclusively vegetarian and seems to be rather popular."

"Yes!" Raven wooted, totally on a high from their afternoon at the aquarium. It had been amazing, and she spent their speeder ride, and most of dinner, regaling Eeth with her favourite parts of the aquarium and why they were her favourites! "Oh, and the skibs! How cool were those?" Skibs were cute, buck-toothed creatures who used their elongated, water-ski-like feet to build dams. They were native to the forest moon of Endor, though, which meant that like a lot of the creatures they had seen at the aquarium, they needed special food brought in to ensure they remained happy and healthy. Eeth and Raven had been there during feeding time and Raven had thought them amazing. The padawan leaned back in her chair, her belly full from the asprow egg salad and herbed breadsticks. That said, when the dessert menu appeared on their table, she found her second wind … or was it stomach? "Can I try this?" Raven pointed to an alcoholic coffee. According to the picture it was small, sweet and left your belly feeling warm. That sounded good to her.

"No," said Eeth. "It contains alcohol. Which you are underage to drink and which affects your Force awareness. Nor do I want you to drink coffee at night. You have a hard enough time falling asleep as it is."

Raven had zero experience with alcohol or caffeinated substances. Thus, she took what Eeth told her at face value and continued skimming the menu. Eventually, Eeth and Raven ended up with a piece of Jogan fruit cake each. It was delicious. By the time they were heading home that evening, Raven was pleasantly full and had a smile on her face. "Thank you, master. That was fun." The padawan stopped short of adding anything about her birthday, if only because she suspected Eeth wouldn't want to be seen to be celebrating such a thing. It didn't bother Raven, they'd had an amazing day and she was on a high.

* * *

A few days later, they were sitting in the common room, working in companionable silence. Raven was just about to finish an essay she had to write for homework and Eeth was halfway through the second chapter of a report he was preparing for the Council. It was getting close to dinner time.

Suddenly, the comm unit beeped, emitting the signal that meant Eeth was urgently needed in the Council Chamber. This was no unusual occurrence – his presence at the Council was required frequently for all kinds of reasons, be it a request from the Senate or a Jedi calling in from a mission with a matter that required an immediate decision.

Rising smoothly, taking his cloak from the coat rack and flinging it over his shoulders, Eeth said: "I do not know for how long I will be gone, padawan. When your homework and chores are done, you are free for the rest of the evening. Do not wait for me with dinner; better have it in the dining hall. If I am not home before your curfew, please do not forget your evening meditation and be in bed on time. Remember, you have Master She'am's class tomorrow."

He gave his padawan a brief smile and left in fast strides, his cloak and long hair billowing behind him as he made his way down the corridor.

"Yes, master. Have fun," replied Raven, having stood from her spot on the common room floor where she was writing an essay. She found the idea of Eeth going to have 'fun' at a Council meeting amusing, which was probably lost on her not-so-humourous master. No, Eeth being called to the Council was not an uncommon occurrence. Raven knew her evening routine, not that she always stuck to it; being left to one's own devices could sometimes prove advantageous.

As fate would have it, today was one such day. After completing her homework, replacing the sheets on her bed and cleaning her refresher, the padawan planted herself in front of the geographical channel. By the time dinner came around Raven was neither hungry nor in any hurry to move, but knew she'd have to make some sort of effort lest Eeth find her out. With that in mind, she contacted Orion and arranged to have dinner with him and his master. The evening was enjoyable as Orion always had interesting things to tell her.

Back at her quarters, Raven completed her nightly meditation early, and then settled in to watch the geographical channel once again.

The Council meeting took a long time. The situation on the planet of Escolar, where three Jedi teams were currently stationed, had escalated, and the Council was consulting with all three teams and debating how best to proceed. Eeth could soon tell that he would not be back in time for Raven's curfew, but that did not worry him. After all, it was not the first time this had happened, and Raven usually got along fine. Once, he had found her staying up far too late in order to do some last-minute studying for an exam. He had given her a good incentive not to try that again. As a rule, she was rather responsible for her age, and he trusted her to follow her routine without him there to supervise.

Eeth entered the common room as quietly as possible so as not to wake his padawan and was surprised to find her stretched out on the couch, with the holo channel on.

Raven had been woken by the sound of their door sliding open. She had fallen asleep on the couch! Surprised to find it was now almost midnight, Raven stretched, rubbed at tired eyes and stood. "Master," she greeted Eeth, offering a clumsy bow. "How was it?"

"I was expecting to find you in bed, padawan," Eeth said calmly, taking off his cloak and giving her a look that had "explain yourself" written all over it.

At this, Raven was awake. "I fell asleep on the couch," she admitted and then, wanting to change the subject, repeated: "How was it?"

"Long," Eeth replied drily, sitting down to pull off his boots. "I assume it is safe to say that you did not do your evening meditation, then. Did you at least fall asleep before your curfew?"

"Of course I did it," Raven replied quickly, because she had done the meditation. What time she had fallen asleep, however, she honestly had no idea. Well, there was no way Raven was going to admit as much. Instead, she yawned and stretched. "What was your meeting about, anyway?"

"The Escolar crisis," Eeth replied, giving her a stern look because he suspected that she was not being entirely truthful. "I am not about to keep you up in the middle of the night by giving you details, though. You will have a demanding class to attend tomorrow morning. If you are interested on what is going on on Escolar, I can tell you during breakfast. Now go to bed and get some more sleep."

Relieved not to be getting the third degree, Raven didn't argue and complied without protest.

Sleep was almost instantaneous that evening, and before she knew it, two hands were rising to block out the glare as Eeth flicked on her light. "Ug!" Raven squinted at him through splayed fingers. "Why can't Master She'am start his class after lunch?" she griped while dragging herself out of bed. Raven was not a morning person, she never had been.

"Because he sometimes needs the entire day, among other reasons" Eeth replied, turning to head back to the kitchen in order to prepare breakfast. "He might take you off-world. Then again, he might just take you to the gym. In either case, the class is open end, depending on what strategies you develop and how much correction and practice they need."

This had Raven's attention and she perked up, shower momentarily forgotten. "Off-world? As in, away from the Temple and Coruscant?" Raven followed him into the kitchen. "Maybe we'll go to Asret, that's close by. No, wait Eron! How cool would that be?" That question was rhetorical, but she kept at the speculation all the same. "Hesperidium!"

"Calm down, padawan," said Eeth drily. "Go, take a shower and get dressed. Master She'am's classes are never predictable. He might take you to the Temple's speeder garage, for all I know."

He poured milk into a pot and started cutting up some fruit.

Raven's expression conveyed exactly what she thought of a lesson in the Temple's garage. Maybe if the cleared it out and… Her mind was off again.

"Get going," Eeth said. "You have fifteen minutes until breakfast is ready."

Raven ran off for her bedroom to do as told. Fifteen minutes later she emerged, dressed in her workout gear, hair brushed and looking presentable. She sat at the table, still pondering the possibilities this class might offer. "Did you ever take a class like Master She'am's?"

"Yes, I did," Eeth replied and served her some porridge. It did not occur to him to volunteer more information than that.

"Well, what was it like?" Raven asked, exasperated. Sometimes getting Eeth to talk was like drawing blood from a stone.

"Interesting," said Eeth. In fact, it had been quite a challenge for him to learn to work with a team but he did not feel like elaborating on that.

"Interesting? Is that all? Master, c'mon, use your adjectives. I'm about to take this class, and I want to know more about the one you took other than the fact that it was an interesting experience. I know you can do it," she coached, a very slight grin forming. She did enjoy making fun of him occasionally.

Eeth raised his eyebrows. "It did teach me a lot about working with teams," he conceded. "It was one of the areas I was not very proficient at, as a junior padawan."

Raven knew that Eeth was not without fault, but to hear he struggled with something in particular was intriguing. Well, he had shared more than was usual, and so she let it be for now. "What are you doing today? Anything exciting?" She doubted that even if it was something she deemed exciting, he would admit to as much.

"Council work," Eeth replied. "There is another meeting scheduled in half an hour on the Escolar crisis. We can leave together. I don't know how long it is going to take, but it will be sure to create enough work to keep me busy for the rest of the day."

"Oh yeah, that. So what's the crisis anyway?" Raven had some idea from the occasional comment here and there, but hadn't exactly studied it or anything.

"The planet seems to be heading into another large-scale war," Eeth replied. "It has already seen twenty years of civil war before the Jedi were able to negotiate a truce, which has been in force for more than two years now. Parts of the militias have been disarmed. However, there is still far too much private and government-owned weaponry around. Last week, what started as a neighbourhood squabble has escalated into civil unrest, several of the planet's governments became involved, and there have been massive outbreaks of violence. There are three Jedi teams on the planet whose original task it was to observe the keeping of the truce and the militias' disarmament. We are currently debating whether we should call them back, send reinforcements or wait for a decision by the Senate."

"Why is there so much war, anyway? Why can't people just get along?" Raven didn't actually expect Eeth to have an answer to that, but it was frustrating all the same.

"Because they have different interests," Eeth replied simply. "Many of them seem to be under the impression that it would be easier to get along if they had a larger share of the planet's wealth or if the right people were in power. And indeed, those are difficult and crucial matters. I am not saying that it is right to fight a war about them, but they are not easy to resolve either. The Jedi have been trying to negotiate a final peace treaty for two years, without success, and it is not even clear who is to blame."

"Messy," Raven conceded. The truth was, the padawan had little experience with such things, although perhaps she might start getting some if the Escolar crisis continued to escalate. Eeth seemed to be somewhat of an expert on the situation, after all; maybe they'd be called to help? The prospect had Raven sitting up a little straighter, but she said nothing of her thoughts.

When breakfast was done and they had cleaned up, Raven went to her bedroom to get what she needed for She'am's class. Eeth had told her that she would only need what would fit on her belt and a bottle of water. So, the padawan grabbed her saber, commlink, utility pouch (which was full of useful gadgets), and exited her bedroom. "Ready," she announced, taking her cloak from the rack and turning to face Eeth.

Eeth put on his own cloak. "We can leave together," he said. "I am on my way to the Council chamber anyway."

They walked together until they reached the bottom of the Tranquility Spire from where Raven needed to head across the courtyard towards the gym whereas Eeth needed to take the elevator.

"Goodbye, padawan," he said. "I hope you have an interesting day. It will be sure to be challenging, but I trust you to do your best."

"I will, promise," Raven assured him, and took off across the courtyard towards the gym.

Moments later Raven was met by a terrifying-looking Abyssin and three very tall Jedi apprentices, all of whom turned their own version of surprised expressions on her as she stopped. "Umm, hi." She gave a cartoonish wave, feeling uncharacteristically shy.

"Hi, I'm Leyasu," a tall, humanoid boy offered, holding out an arm inviting her to the group.

Raven stepped forward, the gesture taking the edge off her nerves.

"Padawan Raven," said Master She'am in a rumbling voice that had a slightly metallic edge to it, checking her off on his list. "You are young to take this class, but your master is convinced that you will manage to keep up, and I have always trusted Master Eeth Koth's judgment."

He was distracted by the appearance of two further padawans, around fourteen-year-old boys whom he identified as Toman and Arranxal. A tall and slender Twi'lek girl called Lin arrived next. Shortly after Lin, a female Chiss who introduced herself as Javhei arrived, and finally a slightly younger human boy called Cheeto who looked no older than fourteen.

She'am put away the course roster and said: "Now that we are complete, follow me." He turned and strode off in the direction of the turbolifts. It soon became apparent that he was taking them to the Temple's hangars.

When their destination became obvious, it was all Raven could do to contain the woot of excitement that was bottling up inside her. They were going to the hangar bay! That meant that they would be going off-planet! Then again, they could just as easily be having the lesson in the hangar bay. One never knew with She'am's classes, or so Eeth had explained that morning over breakfast. Thus, the padawan managed to curb her enthusiasm, if not the skip in her step.

Master She'am led the group towards an old freighter in the back of the hangar. The hatch was open, showing a dimly lit corridor.

"Right," he said. "You, you, you and you."

He pointed at Raven, Leyasu, Javhei and Kyle.

"You will be the passengers of this freighter," he continued. "You will enter it in a moment and retreat to the passenger quarters. I will close the hatch behind you. The other group will try to seize the ship, first by gaining access to it, then by taking control of the bridge and capturing all of you. You, of course, will try to defend yourself and to capture your attackers, starting from the moment in which you are receiving my signal on your comm units that the other group is entering the ship."

He turned towards Lin, Arranxal, Toman and Cheeto. "You will give me your sabers," he said. "Since you are impersonating pirates, you will not use them. You will, however, find a crate next to the hatch that will contain an array of tools and weapons. None of them will do more than give you a slight bruise, of course. The group with sabers, use the lowest setting. Beyond these instructions, both groups can make use of whatever means your Force skills and utility belts offer you, and of everything you find on the ship. However, nobody is to get hurt by any means. If I find that any of you is taking the slightest risk of that happening, there will be trouble."

He paused and gave each of them a stern look before continuing: "The exercise is over when one of the groups has achieved their goal or when I ask you to stop. We will then evaluate your strategies together and discuss alternative solutions. I will be on the ship to observe, but I will not interfere unless one of you is in real danger. If any of you needs my immediate assistance, my comm code is 3976. You may use your comm units to comm each other as well, but only within your respective groups."

He pulled out two datapads and handed them to Leyasu and Arranxal who were easily the oldest students in their respective groups. "These contain the ship's schematics," he said. "Look at them before you develop your strategies. Any more questions before we start?"

Yeah, how are we meant to defend ourselves effectively without leaving a bruise? Raven wanted to know, but she didn't say as much; She'am's class was about thinking outside the square, so they'd just have to do that.

Kyle sat in one of the passenger seats by Raven, who had beaten them all inside. "Ideas?"

"Let's start by looking at this," said Leyasu, placing the datapad on a pull-out table where everyone could see it. It contained the ships schematics She'am had given him, and it was probably the best place to start.

They studied it for quite some time. The ship was standard, and it did have an astromech droid in the bridge. There were only a few ways into the bridge, the most obvious being the door. Each of those were points that needed to be guarded once their attackers made themselves known. They decided that the best way to fend off attackers was to stick together.

"That will leave the bridge unguarded, though," Raven pointed out.

"True," said Leyasu, "but I had an idea about that…" He turned to Kyle and began to explain.

The attacking group had quickly decided against entering by the hatch for a number of reasons. For one, any other point of entry would be more difficult to identify, let alone anticipate, for the other group. Besides, opening a closed hatch from the outside was quite a task. There were a number of weak points in a ship's hull that were much easier to cut through with the tools they found in the crate. They studied the schematics together and settled for a repair hatch on the roof that was designed to give R2 units access to the hull for repairs. None of them had brought grappling hooks, but they managed to get Lin onto the roof by letting her climb on Arranxal's shoulders. She then let down her cloak and hauled the others up with a bit of help through the Force. They quickly cut through the hinges and pried the hatch open, at which moment She'am sent the defending group the comm signal he had promised. When the last of the group had squeezed himself through, Master She'am propelled himself up onto the roof by a Force-enhanced jump and entered the ship himself.

As She'am's call came through, Kyle grinned; his job was going to be fun.

Two minutes later, he exited the bridge, a loud mechanical clunking sound signifying that the hatch had been sealed. The teen wore a satisfied smile on his face; he did so enjoy mechatronics, especially when his skills could be used for cunning and devious plans like reprogramming droids to do his bidding.

"It work?" asked Javhei skeptically, only to receive an indignant expression from Kyle.

"Of course. Nobody will access that bridge while our R2 unit is still functional, and if they try, we'll each be notified on our comlinks. Not bad for three minutes and a utility knife," Kyle boasted, spinning the tiny tool in his hand once before sliding it into his utility belt.

Raven rolled her eyes. Show-off! But she did not say that out loud.

"We should go find them."

"Agreed. Remember the plan. Watch out for each other, but don't forget our mandate; keep the bridge safe and try not to be caught in the process."

The other group had entered the ship unhindered and retreated to a storage hold, discussing their strategy in whispers. Before they did so, they had made sure there was more than one exit; they did not want to risk being ambushed!

"How about one of us retreats to the bridge by way of the crew's sleeping quarters and holds it?" Lin asked. "That would be one of our tasks fulfilled already. Once that person seals the bridge from the inside, the others should have a really hard time entering, so even if they manage to capture the other three of us, they won't have won."

"What if they cut open the bridge with their sabers?" Arranxal inquired. "Or use an air duct or whatever?"

"Well, we'd have to prevent them," Lin said. "Besides, it'd take them all day to cut through the hatch or the walls. It's really, really thick steel. I know that because on our last mission we brought down a smuggler's vessel and had a hell of a time getting access to the bridge. And the air ducts are too small for any of us. Only maintenance droids can use them. Anyway, they'll be distracted trying not to be captured by us."

"Alright," Cheeto agreed. "But the other three will have to capture four of them. How do we do that?"

"We'll have to capture three plus a kid, you mean," Arranxal interjected, and they all sniggered.

"We'll have to find out where they are," said Toman. "Let's split up, disguise ourselves through the Force and find them. As soon as we know their location, we can make plans. And if anyone comes across the squirt, just capture her directly and lock her up somewhere. It shouldn't be hard. Otherwise, we should try to remain undetected."

"Alright," said Arranxal. "Let's exchange comm codes and set off. Lin, you take the bridge. The rest of us go and explore the ship."

The others nodded, and without losing any more time, they split up and set off, keeping clear of the galley.

Meanwhile, Kyle, Javhei, Raven and Leyasu were honing in on the nearest Force presence, planning on taking them out. Four on one would be an easy capture, they knew. Unfortunately, just as they were getting close, their comlinks vibrated. Apparently, one of their attackers was already at the bridge and were attempting to gain access. Leyasu swore. "One of us will have to go back." Given that none of the students in She'am's class had any idea what skills they each possessed, they weren't sure who it was best to send and had very little time to make that decision. "I'll go," volunteered Javhei.

The team exchanged glances, but they really didn't have time for lengthy discussions! "If you think you can do it, go for it," encouraged Kyle.

"Besides," added Raven. "Kyle is the only one on this ship, with the possible exception of master She'am, who can reprogram that astromech. If the other team doesn't know it, we do; he's too valuable to risk."

This drew a collective nod from the others. "Also, they're going to be targeting Raven. Let's not let them get a numbers advantage if at all possible," said Kyle.

As much as Raven didn't like that, she had to concede that he had a point. Less than a few minutes later, Lin was being secured and concealed by Javhei, while Leyasu, Kyle and Raven were having more of a hard time. Arranxal, Toman and Cheeto had regrouped after Lin had managed to send them an emergency signal. They were unable to contact her and find out what had happened since Javhei had taken Lin's comlink but they had to assume she had been captured.

"Let's try to capture the others quickly," Arranxal said. "They are near the cargo bays; I was nearly upon them when Lin's signal reached me. They outnumber us now but they won't anticipate a counter-attack this quickly. If we take out one or two of them fast, we might still have an advantage."

They concealed their Force presence as best they could and were upon Leyasu, Kyle and Raven fast, cornering them in a corridor. Arranxal immediately took on Leyasu since he was the tallest and oldest of the group and Arranxal the most likely to be a match for him; and indeed, using a clever move he had recently learned in an advanced hand-to-hand combat training class, he brought Leyasu down before he could pull his saber. Toman and Cheeto both went for Kyle, considering him more of a challenge than Raven. Unfortunately, Raven didn't see it that way, and she jumped on Toman's back, kicking out at Cheeto. It was enough to have them lose focus on Kyle for a split second, but they quickly tossed her aside and were back on target in a heartbeat.

In the meanwhile, Arranxal had actually managed to shackle Leyasu and notice what was going on. He came to his team's aid immediately; Leyasu was quite powerless although he did throw in a few Force pushes. The fact that they were not actually allowed to use violence proved severely restrictive, though, and so Kyle withdrew; continuing this was pointless.

Raven, however, kept at it for a few seconds longer. She was clearly outmatched but she was still giving it her all.

"Raven!" Leyasu barked, drawing the girl's attention to the futility of her situation. She really was outmatched, as much as she didn't want to admit that. Thus, Raven withdrew with Kyle, both padawans retreating to a safe area to regroup.

"We have Lin and they have Leyasu, it's even. We could lay a trap?" Raven suggested as they ran; that had been an awesome fight and her adrenaline was still pumping.

Kyle had to agree. They needed to reconnect with Javhei, though, and quickly.

Arranxal, Toman and Cheeto, unfortunately, came to the same conclusion as the opposing team: laying a trap was their best option. Since the application of brute force had been ruled out by She'am, they thought they needed to rely on cunning. Kyle and Raven would want their team leader back, they assumed. So, they put Leyasu in a room that was not quite impossible to open from the outside Then they started working on programming the fire doors to close upon their signal. It was a bit slow going since none of them were as good as Kyle but Arranxal was confident it would work.

"Given you are one short and not carrying bodies, I assume we haven't won?" Javhei surmised as the two came running up to where she was still guarding Lin.

Kyle and Raven gave a quick rundown on what had happened so far, and their idea to set a trap. "They will be trying to recover Lin and outnumber us. We could use her as bait," suggested Javhei.

Raven thought about this for a moment. "But what if they're thinking the same thing? Shouldn't we try recovering Leyasu?"

"It's possible. There isn't much else we can do short of using brute force which, of course, we cannot do. We have to try and be smarter, is all."

"Their goal is to access the bridge, right? So, why don't we just grab Lin and lock ourselves inside it?" Raven wanted to know. She thought that a pretty good plan herself.

"Because we're supposed to be defending with a view to capture our attackers. She'am would expect us to come up with something better than hiding in the bridge and waiting," said Kyle, much to Raven's disappointment.

Eventually, they came up with a plan. Lin was restrained and sat on a chair inside the pilot's room that adjointed the bridge. That was all the bait their opponents needed, as it combined each element their attackers were after. They were in for a surprise when they tried to accessing that door, though. Kyle was looking very proud of himself again.

However, Arranxal, Toman and Cheeto had no intention of trying to capture the bridge since they were busy manning the trap they had laid themselves. Which nobody ran into, of course, because Kyle and Raven were busy waiting for the others to fall into their own trap!

Half an hour later, the ship was still quiet, and Master She'am was not pleased.

He pulled out his comm unit and barked: "Both groups to the galley. NOW. I expect to see all of you within three minutes." With long, impatient strides he made his way to the galley himself.

Kyle, Javhei and Raven exchanged looks as they approached their teacher. Kyle was not really surprised to see he didn't look pleased, as they had been sitting around for too long; they should have come up with another idea when it was obvious that this one was not working.

"You blew our cover," Raven accused the man, trying to make light of his frowny face.

The other padawans – Lin and Leyasu, of course, having been set free – were actually pretty impressed by Raven's refusal to be intimidated. Master She'am, however, was not.

"And what use was that cover to you? Were you waiting to grow moss?" he growled. "Instead of making witty remarks, you might think of ways you could have fulfilled your assignment. Completely. For a start, imagine for a moment that this had been a real-life situation. Would you really have dispensed with attempts to free your captured team members simply because it wasn't easy?"

"Of course not," said Raven, indignant. "If we had managed to lure the others into our trap and capture them, freeing Leyasu would have been our next move." Raven tried to keep her gaze steady and not to fidget, which was no easy feat.

Leyasu rolled his eyes. In his opinion, it would have been a good idea to act a little more apologetically at this point. And apparently, Arranxal agreed.

"Yes, well, so did we plan to free Lin," he said. "But I admit that we should have acted sooner, once we realised the others were not intending to fall into our trap. We simply had no clue how to win the upper hand without violence, to be honest."

The others in his group nodded.

"By the way," said Lin, "what did you do to seal the bridge from the inside without getting one of you stuck in there? That was neat."

Master She'am agreed to this assessment. And then he asked Kyle to teach everyone the basics of that skill. After that had been accomplished, he took the group on a tour of the ship and coaxed them into thinking of better strategies. He also had them practice those strategies. Including a brief lunch break, the class went well into the afternoon. When Master She'am called it to a close and accompanied the group out of the hangar, they all had a pretty good idea of which sparring strategies were good in a starship corridor, how you gained access to a locked bridge and the basics of how to program an astromech.

"That was a good class," Leyasu said as they made their way towards the padawan lounge.

"Force, yeah, even though it didn't take us off-planet." Their group spent a good hour chatting about the class and teasing each other over the flaws in their strategies before Raven's comlink started vibrating, drawing everyone's attention. "Alarm," she said in way of explanation and stood. "I gotta go."

This comment garnered a few chuckles from the group, all of which seemed to immediately sober upon catching each other's eye. "Yes. I guess you don't want to piss off someone like master Koth," said Javhei.

"Besides," added Kyle, "you'll need your rest for next week."

Raven wasn't sure if they were taking the piss out of her or not, so she decided to assume they were, lest they add 'naivety' to their list of things to gripe at her over. "And I suppose you all have something better to do?"

"As a matter of fact, we were planning to spend our free time tonight over at Eldora's night markets," replied Javhei. But not before glancing at the others briefly; was it a good idea to invite the kid?

"Best place on Coruscant for hanging out at night," Arranxal confirmed. "Wanna come? Or will that get you into trouble with your master?" He grinned.

"Pff, hardly," Raven rolled her eyes, blowing the comment off. Truth be told, though, the padawan wasn't at all confident Eeth would let her go; he could be prickly about the whole unsupervised thing.

"We're leaving around six," Leyasu said. "We probably won't be back all that late, 'cause we've got classes tomorrow. Around ten or so, I'd say." He smiled at her and offered: "You've got my comm code, right? Just comm me to tell us if you're coming as soon as you've got your master's approval."

"If she gets it," Arranxal said, smirking.

Raven ignored that last comment, pulled on her cloak and took off for her quarters. She had done well in this class, so maybe, just maybe, Eeth would take that into consideration and grant her a little leniency. Course he would! He had enrolled her for this class when it was meant for older padawans, ergo, he must be willing to trust her with more responsibility. Or so Raven reasoned as she made her way towards their quarters, her confidence growing with each step and consequent thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Ten or so minutes after her class with Master She'am had ended, a very excited padawan came rushing through the door. She grabbed a handful of dried fruit from their kitchen and wandered into the common room where Eeth was sitting quietly, his eyes closed and deep in meditation. Not wanting to disturb him, she sat herself down on the floor in front of him and waited.

After a few seconds, Eeth resurfaced from his meditative trance, opened his eyes and looked at his padawan. "Hello, padawan," he said calmly. "I take it from the look on your face that you had an interesting lesson?"

"You could say that," she replied, barely concealing her exuberance. "We got to pretend that our shuttle was being hijacked, and then we had to try capturing the other team. Kyle is amazing with robotics, and you should see Leyasu with his lightsaber, he's awesome." After giving a blow-for-blow description of She'am's class, Raven offered the last piece of her dried fruit to Eeth and regarded him with a semi-desperate look. "I have to ask you something, and, well, it's really important to me that you say yes, because I really, really want to go."

Eeth looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Go where, go when and go with whom?" he asked pointedly.

"Eldora's night markets," Raven answered, raising her hands in placation. "And before you get prickly, my entire class is going, so I won't be unsupervised. We will be back by ten o'clock tonight, but I can leave early. Pleeeeease?" Raven gave him a pleading, desperate look. It was important that she go in order to prove to the others that she wasn't a baby; at least this was what was going through the twelve-year-old's mind right now.

Eeth frowned. "No, padawan," he said. "I will not let you go there without an adult yet, and even less so at that time of the day. Besides, tomorrow is a school day, which means that I will expect you to be home by eight. As for letting you return on your own, that is completely out of the question. I am sorry, but you will have to let your class go without you. The other students are, after all, considerably older than you, I presume."

"Wait, they're not considerably older," she argued, frowning. "There is also going to be eight of us. Eight! Surely that has to add up to better than one adult? You have to let me go or I'll never live it down. Please, I'm begging you." Raven was pulling out all the stops now, not that resorting to begging was new for her. It just seldom ever worked on Eeth.

"I know perfectly well how old you are," Eeth said coolly, "although you are not exactly acting your age at the moment. When you are in a class with people who are two to four years older than you, you can expect them to be allowed things that you are not. The fact that I registered you for Master She'ams class does not imply that I am going to treat you like a sixteen-year-old from now on. And no, seven teen-aged padawans do not add up to one adult in terms of maturity. It does not work that way."

"You can't do this to me, you have to let me go. Everyone will laugh if they find out I wasn't allowed to go because you think I'm not old enough to be without adult supervision. Where's the trust here anyway!" she shouted, her voice thick with hurt at what she perceived as a terrible injustice.

"Padawan, if you are unable to have a mature conversation with me, you had better stop right here," Eeth said, a hint of warning in his otherwise calm tone. "I do not care for your attitude. My decision has nothing to do with trust, it has to do with your safety, with the amount of sleep you need and with the fact that your studies deserve priority over your personal amusement. If you cannot accept the fact that there is a difference between the things a twelve-year-old and a fourteen- or sixteen-year-old are allowed, you will have some difficult years ahead of you. If your classmates are as grown-up as you make out they are, they will not judge you by your curfew, but by your performance in class. Now I do not want to hear any more about it."

Incensed, Raven stood, her arms still folded tightly about her chest. "I am having a mature conversation with you," she shouted, totally ignoring his conversation ending statement. "I can defend myself almost as good as they can! What do you think could possibly happen while I'm with seven Jedi anyway? And not just any Jedi, they're all from She'am's class. You just don't trust me. I take care of myself here often enough when it suits you, what's the difference!?"

Eeth stood as well, quite abruptly, glaring at Raven in a way that clearly said she had better back down fast or her bottom would suffer the consequences. "The difference," he snapped, "between taking care of yourself in the Temple and taking care of yourself in the city is enormous. Eldora's night markets are huge and there is a real risk of getting separated from your company. There are a lot of dangers out in the city at night and many of them cannot be fought with a saber. Even if all this was of no concern to me, there would still be the matter of your curfew which happens to be eight o'clock on evenings before schooldays."

Letting this sink in for a moment, he continued in a sharp tone of voice: "Now, you may call one of your classmates and tell him you will not come, and then you will meditate for one hour on why it is a good idea to stop arguing when I ask you to."

"You're ruining my life!" Raven exploded, stomping her foot, and stormed off to her bedroom. There was just no way she could make the call right now; she was too frustrated and just wanted to cry.

Before she'd so much as reached the door, Eeth had snatched her by the scruff of her neck and delivered a very solid smack to her bottom. This drew a yowl of protest from Raven, but Eeth ignored it.

"Watch your attitude, padawan," he said sternly. "Any more foot-stomping or shouting, and you will find yourself over my knee. Now go and make your call. I gave you an order. It is not up to you to decide whether you want to obey me."

Raven shook, not enough to shake herself from his grasp entirely, but enough to show that she was seriously displeased. The problem with that small act of defiance was that it tended to lose the intended venom when one hand was rubbing at her backside. Having to make that call would solidify her status as a baby amongst her classmates, but what options was Eeth giving her here? And then, something happened that Raven didn't expect. Instead of continuing to fight him, she started sniffling. Horrified, the padawan ran into her bedroom and threw herself on to her bed.

Eeth sighed. After a moment's pause, he followed her, sat at the edge of her bed and rested a hand on her head lightly, sending a wave of calm through their bond, helping to soothe her growing agitation.

He did not speak; he silently waited for her to regain her composure.

The tears were uncharacteristic; the frustration, however, was not. Being given the time to calm down was a reprieve in and of itself, Raven knew that. Still, it was hard for her to pull herself out of this right now as it felt like the biggest, worst thing in the entire universe, and it was all Eeth's fault. Raven lay there for several minutes, both indulging in self-pity and soaking up Eeth's comfort. Eventually, though, she sat up as there was only so long one could throw a fit. Raven didn't say anything. She just sat there looking miserable and hoped he would reconsider. That was too much to hope for, of course.

"Go and make your call," Eeth said, the tone of his voice brooking no objection.

Seeing no other option, Raven stood and stormed from her bedroom to do as told. It was, as expected, an awkward conversation in which the padawan swore she heard Leyasu snicker as he ended the transmission. Of course, her puffy eyes and disheveled appearance did nothing for her plight, but Raven didn't care; this was all Eeth's fault and the expression on her face when he exited her bedroom said exactly how she felt about his decisions.

Eeth gave her a look that clearly said she was walking on thin ice and said matter-of-factly: "Do your meditation now."

Raven returned that look with one of her own. She was equally unhappy with Eeth thanks to his decisions and seriously displeased at having to do meditation as a consequence of wanting to be treated like her classmates. Wordlessly, she jutted out her chin, turned on her heel and went back to her bedroom to attempt doing as he said. It would be no easy feat considering how pissed off she was at not getting her way over this.

Eeth went to the kitchen and started preparing dinner. He kept some of his attention on his padawan through their bond, though. She had better start meditating properly soon. He knew that she was angry, sad and disappointed but he also thought that all of those emotions were quite unreasonable. Hopefully, meditation would help her get over them.

Fortunately for Raven, she knew from experience that continuing to fight orders did not end well. Thus, the padawan began making a serious effort at calming her emotions and meditating; an entire hour was quite harsh a punishment if you asked her. Eeth did not intend to ask her, however. He knew that an hour was the minimum time she would need to get over at least some of her indignation, and that was the whole purpose of this meditation. Only when the hour was over did he tell Raven: "You may stop now."

Had Raven not spent an eternity meditating, her reaction would have been decidedly less tolerant. As it was, however, the meditation had gone a ways to curbing her temper. She rose from her kneeling position, turned a slightly sheepish expression on Eeth, but said nothing. Raven was still not happy about missing out on the markets, but now she could at least concede that Eeth might have had a point, and maybe she had been asking a bit much of him.

"Dinner is on the table," said Eeth. As far as he was concerned, the matter was closed.

Unfortunately, Raven could not yet let go of things as quickly as Eeth did. Her personality was one that tended to cling to things, both negative and positive, and she found it difficult to move on without something that passed as closure for her. She sat at the table without comment and started to eat, again, without comment.

This silence stretched on for about ten minutes before Raven broke the self-imposed tension between them. "I didn't mean it when I said that you're ruining my life." At the time she had meant it, but in hindsight, it was, perhaps, a bit unfair to blame Eeth for caring about her safety, regardless of how misplaced said protectiveness was in Raven's opinion! She looked over at him and winced slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," said Eeth, sprinkling some more hot spice onto his stew. "And I assumed you did not really mean it. Because if I wanted to ruin anyone's life, which has never happened so far, I would take more drastic measures than insisting on a curfew and a few safety rules."

This had the padawan intrigued, her lost evening out with her classmates momentarily forgotten as her imagination went off on a tangent. "Oh? What would you do?" Because Raven just had to know that!

Eeth raised his eyebrows. "Since, as I said, I have never set out to ruin anybody's life, I have never thought about it," he pointed out. "What I was really trying to say is that you were being overly dramatic. Even if I inadvertently ruined your evening, your life will be unlikely to be destroyed by that experience."

Raven was silent for long time, but the cogs were turning. "I guess what you'd do would depend on whose life you were trying to ruin," she stated matter-of-factly, giving this ridiculous scenario further contemplation. She pointed her spoon at him. "For instance, if you really wanted to ruin my life, you could send me to the AgriCorps." Raven was joking, but deep down there was a part of her that still carried insecurities over not being good enough for Eeth. Still, she didn't let on and continued. "Or worse, the Temple turns me into a maths tutor. You're easy: I'd just set you up with some sort of royalty, all that luxury and all…"

"It would not be up to me to send you to the AgriCorps," Eeth said in a tone of voice that suggested he would rather not continue this line of conversation. "Pass me the salt, please." Privately, he could think of a number of things that would ruin his life more effectively than any kind of obnoxious, royal lifestyle. But these belonged to a past he had left behind, and he had no inclination to discuss them with Raven. Nor did it even occur to him that Raven might have insecurities that needed to be addressed. The notion of her being sent to the AgriCorps seemed so absurd to him that he took it for nothing but a joke, and certainly not something that required reassurance.

Although Raven would never admit this, she was a little wounded at his detached response to her mention of sending her to the AgriCorps. Did he mean that if he had the option to send her there, he would!? The padawan stared at him for a moment, but was fast to cover it. "I'd make Granzien your new roommate," she proposed, but when Eeth failed to give anything but a stony look in response, the padawan decided to finish eating and dropped the topic … for now.

The week passed uneventfully. Raven kept from further arguments about being denied privileges she was not yet old enough to have, hence Eeth did not find it necessary to impose any sort of consequences. Friday afternoon saw the padawan meeting up with Cheeto in the padawans' lounge. This was good for a couple of reasons. Firstly, she found out that he too had not been allowed to go to Eldora's last Sunday, and secondly, they spent a solid hour griping about how unfair it was and how unreasonable their masters were for not allowing it. It was cathartic. Of course, their griping was not going to change a thing about their masters' policy in this regard. Eeth was not going to put the restrictions he imposed on his padawan, for her own safety, to a vote just because she did not like them!

* * *

On Sunday, Eeth woke Raven at seven – one hour later than on weekdays, but early enough to have time for her morning meditation and breakfast before Master She'am's second class.

"Time to get up, padawan," he said firmly, switching on the light and bracing himself for the inevitable and pointless argument.

Raven did not disappoint. "Argh! Go away with the light," she responded groggily, her hands swatting fruitlessly at the glare. "Master, I don't feel well today. I need the day off," she told him, disappearing under the covers.

Eeth frowned. One quick probe through their bond told him that nothing was wrong with Raven, other than an intense desire for some more sleep. He had suspected as much; it was not the first time she had tried this.

Pulling the covers away, he said sternly: "Up with you. And no more lies. You know how I feel about dishonesty."

She did, and the mention of lying to him had Raven out of bed quickly; she had only been half serious, after all. She stood there while Eeth left, uttering his usual reprimand: "A little more self-discipline, please, padawan." When her door closed Raven got herself ready, as tired as she felt.

Twenty minutes later a fully awake padawan entered their kitchen, dressed and ready for She'am's class. "What are you cooking?" she asked. It was not like anything Raven had seen him prepare before.

"An Iridonian dish," Eeth replied, slowly stirring the mixture of dried fruit and grains from Iridonia's hot and humid wood regions. "Very popular on Nar Shaddaa. I have found that it has an invigorating effect. Of course, this might merely be due to the amount of sugar it contains, but considering that you will need all your energy for Master She'am's class, I do not think that we need to worry about this. Will you set the table, please?"

It looked like a lot of spit in a pot, but Raven didn't say that. "Lots of sugar, I like the sound of that," she said instead and went to do as he said.

When they were seated and having their breakfast, Eeth informed Raven: "Last night I received a message from my former padawan, Lakhri. He is on his way back to Coruscant from his mission on the Outer Rim and will arrive here very soon. So far, there was no occasion that made it necessary for me to contact him. Thus, he is probably not even aware that I have taken on another padawan. But I am sure that he will be pleased to meet you." As a matter of fact, Eeth was simply not the type to send private messages informing his former padawan of important changes in his life. Such news, in his opinion, was not urgent and could wait until they met in person.

Raven was excited about this news! "Lakhri is coming to the Temple? That's awesome! Tell me more about him," she said, breakfast forgotten.

"Padawan, eat your food before it gets cold," Eeth said mildly. "I do not know what to tell you. You already know that he has been working in the Hevelan system for about two years now, as part of a team of peace keepers. I assume that after his return, he will stay at the Temple for some time. Since he has been a Jedi for eight years now, he might take on a padawan learner at some point. He is certainly skilled and experienced enough to do so."

"That's a long time to be on a mission. I bet he's happy to be coming home," Raven reflected. She had a million questions, but settled on: "How old is he? And ..." The padawan hesitated, spoon poised. "What things does he like doing?" A few drops of breakfast ended up on her pant leg, but Raven smooshed them off with her sleeve.

"He is thirty years old," said Eeth. "And he likes eating, as I am sure I have told you already. He also reads a lot and spends time with friends. You will have to change your pants before you leave. Pay more attention to what you are doing, please."

"Aw, master, don't be like that. It's just a few splotches, nobody will notice. Watch." She stood and brushed it off again, but this only made the sticky splotch spread further down her leg. Yes, Eeth had told her that Lakhri had an appetite, and at one point had even shown her a holocube with some pictures. Thus, Raven knew that the man also had a genetic growth disorder; his torso and head were both normal size, but his arms and legs were disproportionately short. Learning that he liked to read, however, was new, and she filed that info away for later.

Eeth frowned. "Find a new pair of pants and get going," he said. "You do not want to be late for Master She'am's class."

She did not, nor did she want to risk pissing Eeth off this early on in the day. Thus, Raven shoveled the last few mouthfuls of her breakfast while pulling off one of her boots at the same time. This class was going to be fun, and the padawan was really looking forward to it.

Master She'am was already waiting with five other students when Raven came hurrying up. Leyasu appeared on the scene right behind her, which left Arranxal missing. Master She'am was looking more and more displeased with every minute that ticked by. When the padawan in question finally came skidding around a corner, panting and slightly red-faced, Master She'am said sternly: "That's twelve minutes you have kept us waiting, padawan. Do you have a valid excuse?"

"Not really," Arranxal admitted. "I lost track of time over breakfast, and…"

He was cut off by Master She'am who said in a rather uncompromising tone of voice: "Thank you, padawan. You are excused from today's lesson. I will notify your master of this. Come along, class. We have lost enough time already. Today, we are going to work with some assistants who are waiting for us in front of the senior creche's dining hall."

Although it might be rather un-Jedi-like of her, Raven was a little relieved to see Arranxal sent away. He had been the one to scoff most at her chances of getting permission last week, and as it turned out, he had happened to be right. Raven expected some sort of 'I told you so' at the very least. Well, now that wasn't going to happen, at least not from Arranxal.

True to She'am's word, when the group arrived in the antechamber of the dining hall, a team of three young knights of different species were waiting. They were giving the approaching group of padawans an expectant grin.

"This dining hall," Master She'am explained, pointing out the closed double doors in front of them, "is full of senior initiates who are having a second breakfast. Your goal, as a team, is to pursue and apprehend the three knights here, who will be running from you and trying to seek cover in the dining hall or the kitchens beyond that. None of them, and none of you, may use the kitchens' back entrance, air vents, service exits or similar escape routes. Naturally, your objective, besides apprehending the knights, will be to protect the initiates from harm and, if possible, to prevent your opponents from taking any hostages. You may have fifteen minutes to discuss your strategy; then, the exercise will begin."

Much to Raven's delight, she was no longer feeling tired. In fact, she was practically bursting out of her skin. Whatever Eeth had put in that concoction, it had done the trick. It was hard not to fidget and bounce, so much energy did she have.

"Alright, ideas?" asked Leyasu, ignoring Raven's bouncing although it was grating on him.

"Well, we've lost the element of surprise in this case, as I'm pretty sure they know we're coming," Raven commented, having noticed the three knights watching them earlier. Given that the twelve-year-old had little or no real experience with protect or capture procedures, Raven was going to have to learn on the fly here.

"True, but there are seven of us and three of them," said Lin.

"Correct," agreed Javhei, "Besides, Master She'am did not prohibit us from using the Force."

"Or from using a room full of senior initiates," Kyle added.

"Are you suggesting we run in screaming instructions to 'seize them' and capture the knights with sheer force of numbers?" Raven summarised. However, she had to admit that short of using Force holds that were probably beyond their ability to wield with any success, she could not come up with anything better.

* * *

Master She'am watched the discussion with an impassive expression on his face. The padawans had any number of options, of course, and he was interested to see which one they would pick. Most groups, when confronted with this task, tended to neglect the protection of the initiates, knowing that the 'attackers' would not really harm them. He was interested to see whether this group would do better. They might choose to encircle the knights and drive them into the kitchens, or they might split up, a part of them shepherding the initiates to safety. Or they might end up causing chaos and mayhem, which was what often happened during the first attempt unless the majority of the group had a lot of mission experience. Which was fine, because that way the students would learn how to prevent chaos and mayhem from happening in real-life situations.

* * *

"Okay, so Javhei's plan it is," Kyle announced after everyone had signalled their vote, and gestured his peer over to take the floor.

"Alright then, we all know what needs to be done." Javhei asserted, stepping up to take Kyle's place. "We have about two minutes left so if anyone is unclear about their roles or has strategy questions, now is the time to ask," she added, shooting a pointed look at their youngest who was once again fidgeting energetically and drawing frowns from the two boys standing closest. The group was silent for a good thirty seconds, before an ear-piercing whistle announced that the class had begun.

The knights were off in a flash, racing towards the doors of the dining hall. One of them flung them open and followed the other two through it, pulling a blaster while he did so and firing behind himself at the approaching padawan with paint bullets that left red patches on any surface they hit.

Seven sabers sprang to life mere nanoseconds before the hail of red pellets could find purchase. The group split off to their respective targets. Leyasu, Lin and Kyle were the best fighters and were each assigned a knight to capture, while Cheeto and Toman used their superior speed and dexterity to deflect and protect where needed.

"We could really use Arranxal right now!" Javhei griped towards an uncharacteristically focused Raven. Javhei had the most experience with escort type missions, therefore she was to head up their protection detail. Raven nodded in agreement as she herded the last excited initiate into their tightly bunched group and took up a guarding stance on the blind side of the circle.

"Heads up!" Raven said as Kyle's knight began leading him towards the hostage circle.

Cheeto was flanking them in seconds, doing his utmost to be where he was needed most, but damn, these knights could move. They were impossibly fast, and everywhere all at once!

"Come on, guys, you got two breakfasts! You should be able to move faster than this." Raven told the kids, risking a glance at the grinning initiates. A split-second later a sharp sting exploded into her chest, quickly followed by two more, and Raven let out a yelp.

What followed was so fast that it seemed almost a blur. Javhei reached out with the Force attempting to use her talent to dislodge the blaster from the firing knight's hand, while Toman seemed to have materialised from nowhere to supplement her defence as she fought to maintain focus.

"Less chatter, more concentration!" Toman coached while deflecting a cluster of red pellets, and moving to guard the unprotected section of their circle.

"I don't suppose any of you are carrying your sabers?" Javhei asked the group, not taking her eyes off the room.

"Force, yeah, we've got our practice sabers!" one of the senior initiates exclaimed, grinning. It was not that she had been oblivious to this fact; but the group of initiates had been specifically instructed only to use their sabers if the padawans actually told them to. Upon a brief instruction from Javhei, those initiates that were actually able to, given that they pressed into a tight bunch of children right now, pulled their sabers and tried to help their protectors deflect the blaster bolts. They did not have much space to do so, however, and one of the initiates accidentally grazed Javhei's shoulder with his saber.

The slight graze was noted, but not enough to distract Javhei who had remained stoic and quickly singled out the four most experienced-looking initiates. "Flank Raven, do not move past her, do not leave the protection of our circle. The rest of you," she said, gesturing to the others with sabers, "split up, turn out and remain behind our guard. Do not under any circumstances step beyond the protection of our circle. Our objective is to reach safety with everyone present, limbs intact! So, be mindful of your space and concentrate on what you are doing. Got it?" she finished, not actually expecting an answer, but hoping the instructions would result in less damage and more deflecting as they pushed the pack towards safety.

Meanwhile, the knights had changed their strategy. Two of them were back to back trying to fight their way to the exit while one of them flipped across a table, neatly circumventing Cheeto, and landed right in front of Raven. He immediately lunged towards her, obviously meaning to break through her defences and take one of the initiates hostage.

No one was particularly surprised when the knight targeted Raven. After all, attempting to breach the circle at its weakest point was the most logical move. What did surprise them was her tight defence and ability to ignore the hits and refocus. For what seemed like the tenth time in so many minutes, Raven silently thanked her relentless master for the many hours he had spent 'picking' on her defensive skills and, for once, was not miffed at the million times he had put her on her ass in the process. Admirable defending or not, Raven was still no match for a fully trained knight and let out a sigh of relief as their inner circle turned defenders and Cheeto began attacking the knight from behind, forcing his attention to divide.

Pleased to note their hostages had reached a safe area and appeared to be holding their own, Lin, Kyle and Leyasu focused on apprehending the two knights. Three padawan against two knights was still not a fight they could win without seizing every opportunity and working together. As it was Javhei's mission, the other two worked off her lead, surrounding the knights and ever so carefully driving them towards a corner. Javhei feigned a blow to one knight's head, Kyle was quick to follow up, and Leyasu darted in to deliver a finishing blow.

The second knight immediately seized the opportunity, and took off towards the exit, and the padawans let her go; they needed to focus on protecting the initiates and couldn't spare anyone at this point without risking that. The third knight, caught between Raven and Cheeto, saw that the padawans were not going to be distracted into taking chase and realised that the fight was lost. He overturned a table on Cheeto, using the moment of confusion to make his escape.

* * *

Two minutes later, Master She'am was busy taking inventory of the results of the exercise.

"That was not half bad," he commented, taking note of the fact that none of the initiates had been hit by a single "blaster bolt" and that most of his class seemed to be "unharmed" as well. "Especially as you were one person short. I am pleased to see that you set your priorities right and focused on protecting the civilians, even if it meant letting two of your attackers escape."

Master She'am proceeded to check a scorch mark on Javhei's tunic, making sure that there was no burn that needed to be taken care of.

"I'm fine, Master She'am," Javhei reassured him, not at all happy with the attention, or her lack thereof for that matter …

She'am gave her a curt nod and then turned towards Raven.

"You were well able to hold your own when you were attacked in person," he said, "but you were not so alert in the beginning." He nodded at the red dots that adorned Raven's chest. "Had these been real blaster bolts, you would have been dead right at the outset," he growled. "How could you have prevented this from happening?"

Now that the fight was over and the critique well underway, Raven began to rub distractedly at her chest. The paint pellets were designed to be harmless. However, the girl would still have three bullet-sized bruises as a trophy, not to mention a paint-splattered uniform that would be almost impossible to scrub clean. A nudge from Kyle pulled her thoughts from scrubbing uniforms back to the conversation, and she glanced up to find a frowning Master She'am grumbling at her.

"Huh? Oh, umm." Having caught the last half of his statement, she trailed off for a moment before offering a suggestion. "I should have done a better job of dividing my attention. I needed to get the group moving, but at the same time protect them from blaster fire," she explained, and then met him with a sheepish expression. "I did kinda block the shots, though, just not with my saber." This comment garnered a few smirks from her teammates who could all sympathise. They also knew that being inattentive was not going to impress She'am.

"I think you are well aware that blocking the shots at the cost of your life is not a good option, padawan," Master She'am retorted, his growl considerably fiercer now. "As you seem unable to give a satisfactory answer when asked for it, maybe you need to spend more time thinking about it. I expect a three-page essay on what happened, why it happened, what might have been the outcome if those bullets had been for real, and what you could have done to prevent it. You will hand it in at the beginning of the next lesson if you want to continue with this class. And you might want to cut down on the cheek."

Raven groaned out a contrite: "Yes, Sir," and was grateful when he gave a curt nod of acknowledgement and turned his attention to the rest of the class. As if having to admit to Eeth that she had been nailed in the chest three times wasn't bad enough! The essay just compounded her problems.

"Very well," She'am said. "Let's revise your strategy."

This time, the whole scene had been filmed by holocams, and the class spent several hours discussing everything from their overall strategy up to individual moments of the fight and practicing a variety of moves with and without sabers. The initiates had been released into freedom, but the knights were still there and ready to help whenever specific moves needed to be demonstrated or rehearsed. It was a very intense and practical lesson, and even the most senior padawans in the group were quite exhausted when it was finally over.

Raven, for her part, got to spend a good hour with the knight who had attacked her, going over ways to improve her stance and tricks to maintain focus that the girl found very useful.

Not surprisingly, it was a rather worn-out, and quite disheveled padawan who entered their quarters that afternoon.

"Are you home, master?" she called, not bothered to use their bond and check for herself. Tossing her cloak onto the rack, Raven wandered into their kitchen where she proceeded to wrap a bag of frozen peas in a tea towel, pull up her tunic and pressed it to her chest. Thankfully, Raven had not developed breasts, or this would have been a good deal more painful. As it was, the peas were bliss, pure bliss.

"I am here, padawan," Eeth called from his room. Having come home from a workout half an hour ago, he had taken a shower and changed into fresh clothes. Shaking back his hair, he emerged into the common room and found his padawan in the kitchen. He raised his eyebrows as he saw Raven with a pack of peas pressed to her chest, her tunic splattered in red paint.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No, not really. It's just a couple of paint pellets," Raven replied dismissively, hoping to stave off further questions. Raven knew she was lucky to be in She'ams class to begin with, and she certainly did not relish the idea of confessing to a lack of attention any more than she wanted to do the resulting essay.

Eeth's eyebrows rose even higher.

"You allowed yourself to get hit in the chest?" he asked. "No less than three times, at that. However did you manage to neglect your defences this spectacularly?"

While he talked, he slowly moved his hand across Raven's chest, letting healing energy flow into the bruised area, which would do much to alleviate the soreness.

"I. Well you see, I," Raven paused, shooting him a beseeching expression. "I didn't allow it, master… You make it sound like I let him shoot me on purpose," she whined, but given the expression on his face, she decided to explain how she had gotten shot. Naturally, Raven was careful to omit She'am's response from the end. "I'm sorry, master, please don't withdraw me from the class. I know I can do it. I'll concentrate harder next time, I promise." Since Eeth had taken over, the peas were tossed onto the counter; he was doing a better job than they were anyway.

Unfortunately for Raven, Eeth was very adept at noticing when she was being evasive. Besides, he knew Master She'am quite well and was certain that the man would not accept any amount of carelessness from his students.

"I am not going to withdraw you from your class, as long as Master She'am continues to accept you as a student," he said brusquely. "However, I will not be pleased if you continue like this. I expect you to give the class your full attention and act as if the situations you are supposed to deal with were for real. I doubt that you would have let your attention slip if you had expected to be hit by a real blaster bolt any moment. What did Master She'am have to say about your performance?"

The relief Raven felt at hearing he was not planning to pull her from the class was short-lived. "What did he say?" she repeated his question aloud, more to herself than Eeth. Because, ugh, he just had to ask that! "Well, he asked me how I could have prevented it from happening. I told him that I should have done a better job of dividing my attention and all, but he didn't find my answer satisfactory, and," she wrinkled her nose, "I have to do a three page essay detailing the 'whats, whys, hows and reality,' by next week's class or I won't be allowed to continue. I know, right, harsh much?" but that closing statement was all the griping Raven was going to risk at this point.

"Hmm," Eeth said non-committally, not at all surprised. He knew that Raven had a flippant way of answering questions that did not sit well with most Jedi Masters. She would simply have to learn from experience.

Changing the topic, he told her: "Well, best take a shower and change into clean clothes. I will prepare a quick snack in the meanwhile. After that, you should get to work. You might have no time for the essay during the week."

Nodding in response, Raven tossed her peas back into their cooler. "Thanks." She pointed to her chest. "You know, for healing me and all." Raven had half expected him to leave the discomfort as an object lesson, so she was grateful that he seemed to be more understanding than she had anticipated.

"You are welcome," said Eeth and turned to pull a loaf of bread from a cupboard.

Twenty minutes later, a much cleaner, paint-free apprentice wandered back out into their common room, datapad tucked under an arm. For a long moment, Raven simply stared at the blank screen, trying to figure out how she was going to write three pages on the topic She'am had assigned. Groaning, the padawan looked over at Eeth who was getting their snack ready.

"Don't you think it's a bit harsh?" she broached, and then, realising the man had zero context here, stood from her spot on their common room floor to elaborate. "I mean, three pages is a lot of work, and I didn't really do anything that bad. Okay, okay, so I might have been a bit of a smart-ass, but three pages. Mean."

"Well, if this causes you to think before you talk to your teachers and other superiors, the punishment will have fulfilled its purpose," Eeth replied, unmoved. "You decided to take this class, you do not want to drop out of it, so I do not see that you have any options, other than finishing this essay. And whining is not going to help, so stop it."

"Hey, I thought Jedi were supposed to show compassion! Where is the compassion here? You need to work on that," Raven stated, the corner of her lip twitching ever so slightly.

Eeth shot her a stern look but did not dignify this with a reply. "Eat," he simply said. "Then get to work."

"Grumpy," Raven muttered, but just because she wasn't willing to risk voicing further complaints, didn't mean she wasn't whining on the inside.

The snack was taken back to the common room where Raven flopped onto the floor, one leg up the wall, and got to work. After almost three hours of wriggling, fidgeting, tossing and turning, Raven had completed the rough draft and was simply sick of looking at it. "Master, can I go to the lounge? It's not going to get any better without a break."

Eeth thought for a moment. He suspected that Raven had a point. He was, however, loath to allow her a break before her task had been finished. Before he could come to a decision, the door chime rang.


	3. Chapter 3

Eeth made his way to the door of his quarters. It was close to dinner time, and just as Raven had asked him to give her a break from the essay she was writing for Master She'am, the door chime had sounded.

Opening the door, with Raven on his heels, he found himself – well, not exactly face-to-face, but rather navel-to-face, with a very small human who had curly brown hair, a round, good-natured face with hazel eyes and a knobby nose. The small man's formal and respectful bow was belied by the huge grin on his face.

"Master!" he said in a surprisingly deep voice and hugged Eeth around the waist before the man had even finished his own, equally formal bow.

"Welcome back to the Temple, Lakhri," Eeth said, putting an arm on the other man's shoulder in a slightly awkward fashion, and there was just the merest hint of a smile on his face – which showed that he was actually very pleased.

When Lakhri had released him, he took a step back and beckoned his former padawan in.

"Lakhri, I do not think you have heard that I have taken on a new padawan," he said. "Raven, this is my former padawan, Knight Lakhri Tumuel. Lakhri, this is Raven Trebeck. She has been my padawan for nearly a year now."

Lakhri's eyes widened but he got over his surprise fast.

"Hi, Raven," he said pleasantly. "It's good to meet you."

Raven stepped out from where she had been standing behind Eeth, and for the first time in a while, was eye to eye with a Jedi knight. The first thing she noticed was how short and stubby his fingers were. The second was their similar height, and finally (and perhaps the most surprising) was the fact that he came to visit Eeth voluntarily. This meant that not only had the knight survived his apprenticeship but that he also did not resent his strict upbringing.

"Hi!" She gave a little wave. "It's good to meet you, too, Knight Lakhri." Raven paused here. It was the first time she had to address Eeth in the third person whilst he was actually present, and it felt awkward. She could hardly call him by his first name, but then, "master" seemed awfully formal. Raven looked up at Eeth, noting his stiff posture and dignified expression, and her decision was made. "Master has told me about you."

Lakhri chuckled. "If I didn't know Eeth better, I'd assume he told you all about my misspent youth, but I know he's too discreet for that," he said. "It's nice to meet you, and good to hear that my master finally found the courage to let another person into his immensely private life. Oh, I forgot – he's only doing his duty to the Order." He winked at Raven.

"Do come in, Lakhri," Eeth said in his usual dignified manner, and Lakhri readily followed, sitting down at the common room table.

"I would ask you how you find life with my dear old master, but I suppose it's too much to expect you to say 'horrifying' while he's present," he told Raven, grinning at her.

Raven's eyes widened slightly as she looked from Lakhri to Eeth; she fully expected Eeth to chew him out over his attitude and start grumbling about disrespect.

"The more time that has passed since your knighting," Eeth retorted in a very calm and collected manner, "the more you seem to enjoy making fun of me. I notice that you at least were kind enough to change into proper attire this time."

"Well, I did remember your dislike for the purple jumpsuit I brought home from my last mission," Lakhri replied, more serious now, "but more importantly, I have just come from a mission debriefing with the field support unit, and I thought I'd better change into Jedi robes before I meet them. I am supposed to give my full mission report to the Council tomorrow."

Wow, apparently Lakhri got away with a lot more than Raven could, and that intrigued Raven. Firstly, she would never call Eeth by his first name. Then again, Lakhri was a knight now and maybe Eeth would have different expectations because of that? Probably. Also, Lakhri was giving him a hard time, and Eeth was not grumbling at him over it.

"If I say horrifying while he's here, will you protect me?" the padawan tried to banter. She was not without her own cheeky streak, after all, but it did not usually impress Eeth.

It might have comforted Raven to know that Lakhri had only started calling his former master by his first name several years into his knighthood. It still tended to surprise Lakhri how well he actually got on with Eeth, now that he was a Jedi knight in his own right and his master no longer felt responsible for his every step. He had half expected Eeth to continue caning him if he made a mistake, but Eeth had made clear to him that he now considered him an adult and that he would not judge his actions and decisions unless asked to, other than in his capacity as a Council member, of course. So Lakhri and Eeth had reached a level of comfort in their relationship that they had never had before.

"I feel honoured to see that you actually consider me capable of shielding you from your master's wrath," Lakhri said, grinning at Raven. "I'm not sure if I am, though. He can still beat me with and without a saber with one hand tied behind his back. Or both."

"You underestimate yourself, as usual," Eeth said mildly. "If you like, we can schedule a sparring session together. It is always good for Raven to practice with others, and I would not mind sparring with you either."

"Sure," Lakhri said readily. "You game, Raven?"

Secretly, Raven thought that if Lakhri had survived his apprenticeship with Eeth, he would have to be more than up to the task of protecting her. Eeth's next statement, however, had her complete attention. "Force, yes! Let's go!" she replied excitedly, all thoughts of the padawans' lounge, essays, classes, chores and whatever else they had to do now out the window.

Eeth raised his eyebrows. "It is nearly dinnertime," he said, "and you have not finished your essay yet. If you manage to complete it tonight, we may have a sparring session with Lakhri tomorrow afternoon. Will you be free then, Lakhri? And would you like to stay for dinner tonight?"

The padawan sighed, but remained silent; she had not really expected Eeth to let her off doing the work. Well, you had to be in it to win it.

"Sure," Lakhri agreed. "Can we order in? I haven't had Careenian food for two years. Would you be fine with that, Raven?"

"Yes! I love Careenian. We've had it lots of times. Also, they have loads of vegetarian options." Of all Eeth's strictness, Raven got to leave the Temple a little more than most of her friends, which she enjoyed boasting about. Lakhri probably knew that, though.

"Then let's get to it," said Lakhri enthusiastically. They ordered a choice of meals, including vegetarian ones, from the terminal, and set the table.

While they waited for their food to arrive, Eeth asked Lakhri: "How do you feel about the mission you just returned from? I have read the mission report, of course, and will be in the Council meeting tomorrow when you and the others will present it, but I am interested to hear how you coped. It seems to me that it was by far the most challenging mission you have been assigned so far."

"It was," agreed Lakhri. "In many ways. I can't tell you how glad I am to be back here after all this time, and I really hope I get a bit of a break. – Of course I will do whatever the Council asks me to do," he hurried to add. "It's just that this was both an emotionally and physically exhausting experience. And by 'emotionally', I mean the stuff that's got to do with feelings. The one you might have heard about." He grinned and winked at Raven.

By this stage, the padawan had given up any pretence of appearing unamused by Lakhri's brave comments, and was currently bracing herself for one of two situations. Either Lakhri was going to find himself suddenly marched off to the cupboard, or her master was about to announce that he was really an undercover Crimson Nova bounty hunter, sent on a mission to infiltrate the Jedi High Council. After a moment spent reflecting on this, however, neither option seemed likely, and Raven concluded that—short stature notwithstanding—this knight owned an impressively sized set of balls.

The grin had barely left her face since Lakhri's arrival. It was still firmly in place as the door chimed, and she sprang up from the table. "I'll get it," Raven announced, not wanting to interrupt their conversation, and ran for the door.

While Raven went to fetch their dinner, Eeth turned a grave look towards Lakhri.

"Will you give it a rest, please?" he asked politely. "I do know what emotions are, and you know it. I also know I have my shortcomings, just like the next person. I do not hear myself constantly talking about yours, though."

Lakhri had the good grace to blush slightly. "Sorry, master," he said apologetically, falling back into old habits. "It's just that it's so much... well, fun, to poke fun at you."

"And the fact that my padawan is admiring you openly for it probably helps, too," Eeth remarked dryly, causing Lakhri to blush a deeper shade of red.

"Yes, it definitely does," he admitted. "Ah, food! Thanks, Raven."

"Welcome," Raven replied, removing the lids from each container, placing them yucky side up on the table. "Ouch! Careful, that one's really, really hot" she warned, dropping the lid and blowing madly at a steam-scorched finger.

While they were ladling food onto their plates, Lakhri said: "Anyway, that mission was all I dreamed of when I was a junior padawan. Constantly moving from planet to planet, blending in with the natives and getting into firefights every other day. Unfortunately, things like these are usually not all that glamorous when they actually happen, and it became quite nerve-wracking in the long run. After about half a year, I was ready to blow up the whole stellar system for being so damn obnoxious. When that urge had passed, I became kind of fatalistic. Hadn't it been for my connection to the Force, I don't know how I would have managed."

Raven did not want to interrupt their conversation, but what Lakhri said about missions had the girl's complete and undivided attention.

"Are you suggesting that after years waiting for a challenging mission, when you finally had one, it wasn't worth wanting in the first place?" Raven asked, not quite sure what to make of the statement, or if she would permit the voice of experience to dent her own dreams.

Lakhri shook his head. "Sorry, I don't think I got my meaning across clearly," he said. "Of course this wasn't my first challenging mission. I've been on dozens of them, some on my own, some with my master. This one, though, was the kind of mission every junior padawan would wish for. Adventurous, action-filled, dangerous, exotic and so on. It even had an impact; it wasn't as if we could not do anything about the situation. I blew up several rings of weapon smugglers, negotiated settlements of a number of local conflicts, supervised the relocation of tens of thousands of fugitives to safe places and whatnot. So, it probably sounds great and I had actually been looking forward to it. And then, it turned out to be nothing more than tiring, nerve-wracking and exhausting. The locals were obstructing our efforts every step of the way. We got the feeling that as soon as we turned our backs to a place, fighting would break out again, with weapons that weren't even supposed to be in these people's possession any longer. After some time, I was constantly fighting the temptation to simply go and hate all these people for their obnoxiousness, aggressiveness and their insane squabbling. And once I got over that, I had to fight the temptation to stop caring. I think I was mostly successful but it was not easy."

"Yes, it can be quite hard," Eeth agreed quietly. "The experience is all the more intense when you are forced to spend several years in a place, instead of merely paying it a short visit as was the case on most of your previous missions."

Lakhri nodded, giving his former master a small smile. He was grateful for the man's understanding. Then he turned towards Raven. "Enough talk about me," he said. "What about you? Have you already been on missions?"

Raven had hung on Lakhri's every last word, so when the attention turned to her, she was a little disappointed that his story had ended for now. Still, he had shared, and so she would share also. "Just the one," Raven admitted, a blush growing beneath her eyes. "We went to Fenesteer for the crowning of the new king. It was supposed to be boring –" the girl coughed and quickly corrected herself before Eeth could say anything – "I mean, diplomatic, but it turned out to be far more complicated than we had thought." Raven gave the man a quick rundown of the highlights, making sure to omit the bits where she disobeyed, almost got them blown to smithereens, forced her master into a semi coma and … did not sit down again for a week!

"After the bomb was contained, the mission was aborted and another team was called in to investigate. That was the only mission I have been on so far," Raven concluded, doing her best to hide the guilt she still felt over the mess she had made out of that disastrous inaugural mission.

If Lakhri had inherited one thing from Eeth, it was a certain perceptiveness. Raven was almost certainly brushing over some spectacular failure, but then, his first mission hadn't been a raving success either, so he did not press the issue; nor did Eeth make any mention of the incident.

"Yes, from the point where the stampede started, it was anything but boring," he merely agreed. "Fortunately, Raven has a real gift with animals. I will see to it that she develops it at some point. For now, her classes have precedence."

"Are those going alright?" Lakhri asked Raven. "Are you getting to study anything exciting?"

Exciting? Raven had to think about that for a moment because whenever someone mentioned classes, the first thing she thought of was maths and Basic, when there were actually classes that she did enjoy. "I liked First Aid, and," she sat a bit taller in her seat, "I'm doing Master She'am's class right now which is amazing. Rool's hand-to-hand combat class was okay, too, I guess… Pity the man himself was far from it. He has issues."

Lakhri chortled at Raven's comment about Master Rool.

"Yeah, he's a hard-ass and way too eager with his cane," he said. "He does get results, though, that much is certain. Even I managed to pass his class, despite my physical difficulties. But I left it with a sore bottom more often than not. The man doesn't take the slightest bit of cheek. I don't know whether you are good in that department, but I certainly was."

"That is most definitely correct," Eeth said in a neutral tone.

"Yeah, but then, Rool doesn't have the slightest sense of humour," Lakhri pointed out.

"He doesn't. I swear that he had a hot poker jammed up his ass at birth and it was never removed. The man's a complete tyrant," Raven grumbled.

"Padawan, watch your mouth," Eeth snapped, earning a slight flinch from Raven.

"Aww, c'mon," Lakhri said, his eyes twinkling. "It's kind of fitting, isn't it?"

"It is not," said Eeth coolly. "Master Rool has a right to expect respectful behaviour from you, just as he has a right to expect you to demonstrate some skill in order to earn a passing grade."

"Don't tell me he failed you," Lakhri said to Raven.

Raven pursed her lips. "As a matter of fact, he did." The padawan frowned. "Not because I lacked skill, but because I failed to demonstrate it in a way that he deemed suitable. Jerk."

"That," said Eeth in a rather ominous tone of voice, "does not meet my definition of respectful behaviour."

"Well," Lakhri said peacefully, "it seems that you are not much better in the cheek department than I was at your age, after all."

Lakhri's presence was like finding a petunia in the proverbial onion patch of adults that Raven was typically surrounded by, and it gave her a sense of security to be perhaps a little brasher than she might have been otherwise. "Just because it is disrespectful, doesn't mean that it isn't true," she added quietly.

"That is quite enough out of you, padawan," Eeth said sternly. "Nobody deserves to be insulted, and even if they did, that would not be a matter of truth but of perspective; there is certainly no universal agreement over who is a jerk and who is not. Moreover, not every thought that crosses your mind is worthy of being uttered. Obviously, Master She'am agrees with me on that count, which is why you still have an essay to complete."

Okay, so apparently Lakhri's presence was not going to grant Raven immunity from Eeth's wrath. Her cheeks flushed and she sunk into her chair, unwilling to push him further.

"'Horrifying' is still an apt description, I see," Lakhri remarked lightly; he was not keen on increasing Raven's embarrassment. "So is Master She'am making you write that essay Eeth mentioned? Don't worry… you'll get used to military-style education in a year or two." He flashed a grin at Raven to cheer her up.

"He is," Raven confirmed, and placed her chopsticks on an overturned lid. "He isn't as bad as Rool, and I really do like the class, even getting shot was kind of fun… Not that my master thought so. I guess the military-style of education just doesn't mesh well with me," the girl admitted.

"You will learn," said Eeth calmly. "It is my job to see to it that you do."

"And Eeth takes his jobs verrrrryyyy seriously, as we all know," said Lakhri, chuckling. "Poor you. Just remember: any 'yes, master, no, master' response is always a good one. They can virtually be life-saving. I hope you'll be a quicker learner at this than I was."

"I'm not sure I will be. I mean, did either of you ever get in trouble, or is it just me?" She asked looking from knight to master. Secretly she hoped at least one of them would answer yes, as hearing you are just a lousy padawan was not something anyone would be thrilled over.

Lakhri roared with laughter, drawing a broad smile from Raven. "If I ever got in trouble?" Lakhri asked, wiping tears from his eyes. "Force, there was hardly a day in my padawanhood on which I was actually able to sit!" When Eeth gave him a pointed look, he conceded: "Alright, that was an exaggeration. It certainly seemed like it during the first year or two, though. Things got considerably better after that. And I hasten to add that my punishments might have been harsh, but were never undeserved."

"Harsh is an understatement," Raven interjected, giving Eeth an accusatory glance.

"Curiously," Eeth said carefully, opting to ignore Raven's comment, "it was the other way round with me. I rarely got into trouble as a junior padawan, but at a later stage, I reached a point where my confidence in my skills turned into overconfidence, bordering on arrogance, which is not a desirable trait in a Jedi. And my master called me to task for it more than once, just as she taught me many lessons about my tendency to act alone, with no regard for the people I was supposed to work with."

Lakhri raised his eyebrows at hearing this. He knew that Eeth had been arrogant and difficult as a padawan, which was not exactly hard to imagine for anyone who knew him well, but he had learned this from his grandmaster, not from Eeth himself. That Eeth was willingly divulging this bit of personal information to his padawan seemed rather surprising to him. He had never done so to Lakhri, back when they had still been master and padawan!

"I can't imagine you ever getting into serious trouble. You're just too, well… rule-abiding!" Raven told Eeth.

"Yes, I am," Eeth replied calmly. "But there are many things a padawan can get into trouble for, other than running in the corridors or coming home after curfew. Which, to my knowledge, I never did. I did, however, disobey my master during a dangerous mission after she had told me to keep safe and give her cover, whereas I thought it more advisable to take action, given the infinite and misplaced trust I had in my fighting abilities. That was definitely something that got me in 'serious trouble'. What we are doing can be deadly, padawan. That is why my own master was touchy about such things, just as Master She'am is and just as I am."

Raven raised an eyebrow at hearing that. Sure, Eeth had mentioned that he'd had trouble with certain aspects of his training as a padawan before, but he'd never divulged such detail. She looked to Lakhri, curious to know how he would respond.

"She was also touchy about the way you dealt with me," Lakhri remarked, his face solemn. "Raven, if you think he's bad now, that's nothing compared to how he was when I first became his padawan. Luckily, his former master was still around to make him see the error of his ways." The twinkle returned to his eyes as he said that last bit.

"You were worse?!" Raven asked Eeth, the surprise in her tone evident. It wasn't until after the fact that she realised that the incredulity in her tone might have been a little insensitive of her.

Eeth frowned slightly at Raven's question. He knew he was not very good at giving emotional support although he cared much more about his padawans than he let on. That said, he believed that Raven, of all padawans, would do badly if given too much leeway; her brash attitude and cheek did her no favours, and the reactions of teachers like Master Rool and Master She'am seemed to prove this point. The pivotal question was, how to apply the necessary degree of sternness without making her feel rejected? He decided to talk to Lakhri about it; the two had developed a comfortable relationship, and Eeth was more open towards Lakhri than anybody else.

"I was too harsh with Lakhri at the beginning of his padawanhood," he said stiffly. "I do like to think that I have improved. I might still not be the warm and cuddly type of master, but thanks to Master Fenya's intervention, I am making an effort."

"At being warm and cuddly?" Lakhri asked incredulously, a chuckle rising in his throat.

"No, that is NOT what I meant," Eeth replied very firmly, looking positively disgusted at the thought of being 'cuddly'.

Raven started chuckling at this. It was enjoyable to poke fun at Eeth and apparently Lakhri, who was laughing loudly at this point, agreed.

"Padawan, your food is getting cold," Eeth pointed out, but his tone of voice was less stern than it might have been.

"Yeah, it would be a waste not eating this," Lakhri agreed. "Want some help?" He had emptied all of his containers but he was not exactly full yet.

Raven was finding this all incredibly entertaining; Lakhri's presence was like a breath of fresh air. His offer to help was accepted. Separating the untouched section from the slightly slobbered-on side, Raven slid her plate closer to Lakhri, hoping that this was what he meant by helping her… After all, the man had been Eeth's apprentice for many years, and his offer to help could just as easily meant a kick in the pants, or worse, spoon-feeding her. Deciding to risk it, the padawan shot him a grin. "This half should be safe, not that I have cooties or anything."

Lakhri had always had hollow legs, which was kind of surprising, given that his legs were so short. The fact that his culinary experiences in the Hevelan system had been less than satisfying for the past two years – not that he would ever have complained about that! – only helped to fuel his appetite. Even after having devoured half of Raven's dinner on top of his own, he did not feel entirely full.

Eeth, who knew Lakhri well, assumed as much and therefore produced some tea and a plate of small cakes. When the plate was empty, he finally declared that Raven really needed to finish her essay now if they were going to have a sparring session tomorrow.

"Oh well," Lakhri said, rising from his chair. "Study comes first. Besides, I still have to go over my mission report."

He smiled at Raven. "Boy, do I start to sound like a boring old master," he remarked.

"I'm so glad you're here and that I got to meet you," Raven said, standing and pulling the knight into a hug. "Oh, and don't worry about being a boring old master, you don't make noises when you sit and stand so you're still safe. For now …." she grinned and removed herself from his arms.

Eeth made arrangements with Lakhri to meet in a training room at three thirty the following afternoon, after which the knight left without further ado. There was no need for drawn-out farewell scenes when they would most likely meet each other again the following morning for Lakhri's mission report. Besides, Eeth was horrible at saying goodbye. When Lakhri had left for his first mission, Eeth had come to see him off, probably because he had seen other masters do it and felt that it was his duty to do the same. Eeth had clearly been uncomfortable and the whole thing had been so awkward that the next time, Lakhri had simply said goodbye to Eeth the night before and told him he needn't come to witness his departure. That was alright with Lakhri; this was simply what Eeth was like. Lakhri had come to realise that Eeth had difficulties showing his feelings, which he knew was not the same as having no feelings (although he still liked to tease Eeth about it).

"Get to work on your essay now, please," Eeth told Raven when Lakhri had left. "If you manage to submit an acceptable version within the next hour, you may take some time to do something... err... fun for half an hour before you need to turn in." The expression on his face clearly conveyed that he considered the term "fun" objectionable, but had used it for lack of a better alternative.

"Err, fun?" Raven smirked, going to collect her datapad. "Could you define fun?" she asked, grinning at him as the pad began rebooting.

"No, you define fun," Eeth countered. "Because this is about your, err, fun, not mine. Just let me know when you are done. I will continue to work on the weapons legislation issue in the meanwhile."

With this, he left for his own room in order to sort through the reports he had received this morning.

Much to Raven's delight the evening spent with Lakhri and Eeth was just what the padawan needed, and after an hour and a half, she was confident that her essay would pass muster with She'am. "I'm done with it now, do you want to look at it or can I watch the holo?" Raven called from the other side of Eeth's bedroom door. There was a documentary on Naboo's sandos coming on shortly, which Raven wanted to watch.

Eeth finished the sentence he was writing, rose from his chair, opened the door and entered the common room.

"I should like to take a look at your essay before letting you decide – within reasonable limits – what to do with the rest of the evening," he said.

He held out his hand for the datapad. Having received it, he read through Raven's essay quickly, marked a few spelling errors and handed it back to her.

"Correct these, and then you may watch the holo channel if that is what you prefer to do tonight," he told her.

"Yes!" Raven wooted, excited at the prospect of an evening in front of the holo. It wasn't often that she had time to lie around, so when the opportunity presented itself, it was appreciated all the more. Besides, she had worked hard lately and thought herself deserving of a break. Taking the datapad, Raven sat to do as he said, and then she sprawled out on their couch. This was the life!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hiya all. We hope you are enjoying the fourth installment of Eeth and Raven's adventures. It's a lot of fun to revisit and edit these. As always, thank you to all who have read, reviewed and IMed; it's motivating to read everyone's thoughts on our writing. Things are about to get a little crazy for our Jedi. Enjoy.

If anyone is interested in reading more about Lakhri's padawanhood with Eeth, you can find a few stories in Livia Yoran's author profile!

* * *

The next morning passed uneventfully. After Raven's lessons, she and Eeth had a quick lunch. He then asked her to do as much of her homework as she could before heading off to the gym where they were scheduled to meet with Lakhri. At twenty-five minutes past three, they entered the gym, dressed in their workout clothes and waiting for the knight to appear. He hurried into the gym at three thirty sharp, panting.

"Hi," he said, beaming at the two. "I seem to remember that you don't like it if I'm late, so I had to hurry a little. I was held up by Master Gavyan, the current head of the junior padawans' training unit, who presented me with a load of classes I am asked to teach next cycle. Apparently, I will get the break I was hoping for, but the Council is trying hard to keep me busy."

Raven gave Lakhri a warning look. Eeth never let her get away with breaking one rule only to keep from breaking another! She braced herself for what was sure to be a stern lecture on being punctual and how it was disrespectful to keep people waiting and yadda yadda.

"Of course," Eeth said neutrally. "We would not want you to be idle."

Of course?' Of COURSE?! What tha–? Raven was shocked; Eeth had let him get away with it! A stab of jealousy surfaced, but it was quickly replaced by relief for the knight. After all, he must know something about placating Eeth and avoiding his wrath that she did not.

"Ha ha," Lakhri said. "Speaking of being idle, shall we start? Raven, do you want to have a go first, or would you like to watch the two of us?"

Still looking puzzled, Raven's gaze shifted from where she was staring at Eeth, to Lakhri. "I'll watch you first," she said. "I've been looking forward to seeing you two fight since dinner last night." Besides, if Lakhri was to go first he might just tire out Eeth, and perhaps she would not spend as much time picking herself up off the matting. It was a good enough strategy, unlikely to work, but still worth a try.

Eeth noticed Raven's puzzled look and guessed what was behind it. Had Lakhri presented the same excuse as a padawan, he would not have escaped without a severe reprimand or, more likely, a dozen solid swats to his bottom. But Lakhri was a knight now, and that made all the difference to Eeth. It meant that he would not scold Lakhri in public, although when given an opportunity, he would certainly inform his former padawan that he was setting a bad example. For now, he merely nodded to Lakhri, signalling for him to start. They took their positions, bowed to each other and immediately launched their attacks. Lakhri, of course, had a serious physical disadvantage, but he made up for it through his supreme Force control. Eeth had trained him relentlessly, and years of hard work had paid off. If Lakhri was still no match for his former master, that was only because Eeth had even more years of hard work and training to draw upon. However, neither of the two were keen on winning. They merely sparred for the fun of it although Eeth would have been unlikely to phrase it like that.

In Raven's opinion, there was not a soul in the Temple who could best her master in a lightsaber duel. Now she could add Lakhri to her list of "untouchable Jedi"; he was amazing! What he lacked in size, he made up for with an incredible Force ability and sheer tenacity, and Eeth did not appear to be holding much, if anything, back. The sight was awe-inspiring and humbling at the same time. On the one hand, the padawan was grateful for having such an exceptional master to teach her. On the other, she realised just how much he had been holding back and it did not bode well for her pride… Not that she would admit to that.

After attempting a few minutes of a rather unproductive stretching sequence, Raven gave up and simply sat, completely focused on the two Jedi tumbling and springing around the room.

Lakhri and Eeth were both in their element. They did not share a training bond any longer, of course, but they were still extremely familiar with each other's Force signature and sparring style and it showed. As he was fighting Eeth, Lakhri realised how much he had missed this; how much he had missed the man, in fact! And Eeth, although he would never have voiced it, felt the same. He was enjoying himself more than he had in a long time.

After about half an hour, Eeth, with a certain amount of regret, decided to end the fight in order to give his padawan a chance at a workout. After all her lessons and homework, she needed to blow off some steam. It took him less than two minutes to divest Lakhri of his lightsaber. His former padawan merely laughed, bowed to his master and turned towards Raven. "Want to have a go against me?" he asked, grinning at her.

"You sure you don't need a rest first?" Raven said with a grin, while making her way to stand opposite him.

"You wish," Lakhri replied, his grin broadening, and launched into an attack.

Raven returned his grin. It was official: Lakhri was the coolest adult she knew.

Lakhri purposefully held back at first, trying to gauge Raven's skill, and was quite impressed. For a twelve-year-old, she was good, and fast. Of course, she had been trained by his former master for the past months, but she must have had a lot of talent to begin with.

"Good job," he called when she had neatly deflected a tricky blow. He decided to up the ante.

Accustomed to sparring with a tall Zabrak, the padawan tried not to neglect her lower body defences and was relieved that Lakhri was allowing her to ease into it. The reprieve was short-lived, however, as five minutes later she was working much harder at not ending up on the floor. He was impossibly fast and seemed to anticipate her moves before she even decided to use them!

Lakhri had some teaching experience but his last teaching assignment had been long ago, and he had never taught individual students. It took him a few minutes to realise he was going too fast. He tried to slow down and limit himself to moves that he thought Raven could handle. It was more difficult than he would have thought, though. Of course he knew that teaching required more than simply being good at something but applying that knowledge in a one-on-one freestyle fight was not as easy as he had thought – which was what he realised after he had launched into a complicated attack sequence without any conscious thought, whereupon Raven had his saber at her throat.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. "I didn't mean to win this early."

"Don't be, you have amazing aerials!" Raven panted, smiling ear to ear at having remained on her feet for the entire fight. Of course, it went without saying that she was not altogether pleased with having lost so quickly. Then again, Eeth was not the sort of master to let her win during freestyle sparring either; at most, he made sure that she didn't get hit every thirty seconds.

Lakhri, however, had really wanted to enable her to hold out longer because it was simply more fun that way – and more educational to boot.

"Master, can you have a go with Raven?" he asked. "I'd like to see how you're doing it."

"Doing what?" Eeth asked.

"Spar with her without doing stuff that's, uh, too advanced," Lakhri said, a little embarrassed; he did not mean to sound derogatory. "I mean, she's really advanced for her age, but there are obviously aerials and defense techniques that she hasn't mastered yet. And I want to keep the fight going, instead of scoring hit after hit. Like you did with me."

Eeth nodded. "You are right," he said. "Teaching junior padawans will require you to limit your attack sequences to a level they can cope with, unless you want to demonstrate the weakness of certain defensive moves to them, of course. I will show you. Raven?"

He bowed to her and ignited his lightsaber. When she had returned the bow, he launched into an attack at the speed and level of difficulty he usually employed in one of his sparring sessions – demanding, but not totally beyond Raven's means.

Raven did feel like a bit of a science experiment here, but this was Lakhri, so she would take one for the team if it meant helping him out. As usual, Eeth wasn't playing with her, and the padawan was soon working up a sweat defending blows and attempting counters wherever humanly possible. After all, Eeth was planning on putting Raven through her paces.

"Do not limit yourself to counter-attack moves, padawan," he ordered. "Try to get out of my range and then launch a proper attack. If you are waiting for one of us to collapse from exhaustion, it will probably be you rather than me."

"Yes, master," Raven replied. The problem with that strategy was it usually ended with her on her ass. Well, this time Raven was going to try taking him off guard. It wasn't like she didn't try it all the time, she totally did, but it rarely worked. With a look of determination on her face, the padawan leapt forward, intending to meet him head-on. It was not a tactic she used very often against Eeth as his forward defence was practically impenetrable. It was, however, less predictable, or so she hoped.

Eeth tended to agree; and of course, proving that his defences were indeed quite impenetrable was not the point of the exercise.

"Good attack," he praised, allowing her to get in which forced him to jump out of harm's way and put some distance between themselves again. After a moment, he signalled for her to stop and showed her a good follow-up on this attack sequence which would enable her to make more use of the ground she had gained.

Lakhri watched, quite impressed. His master's teaching skills had always been excellent, he supposed, but it was different seeing it from the outside. He had by no means intended to make Raven a kind of guinea pig; it was more that he was somewhat apprehensive concerning the classes he would have to teach and wanted to pick up as many hints as possible.

When Eeth was done explaining and practicing the move with Raven, Lakhri had another go against her and was actually nearly taken off his feet, so fast was she able to implement the new attack sequence.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, somersaulting to the back of the room. He definitely would have to pay more attention to his defences!

"Whoa," Raven echoed, in a much more subdued tone. She hadn't expected that to work. Well, it had, so the padawan covered her surprise with a grin, and took after him again. It was on. After twenty minutes, Eeth gave her a break and sparred with Lakhri again, and then Lakhri and Raven teamed up against Eeth.

Two hours later, the padawan's endurance had almost reached its limit and Eeth was thinking of stopping the workout when his comm unit beeped, calling him to the Council chambers immediately.

Although Raven would never admit to this in a million years, she was glad when Eeth called their match to an end; she was exhausted, but simply didn't have it in her to quit. Raven would never quit when it came to sparring.

"I am sorry, Lakhri, Raven, I have to attend a Council meeting immediately," Eeth said, disigniting his lightsaber. "Lakhri, could you take Raven back to our quarters? Raven, please take a shower and then finish your homework. I will be with you as soon as I can."

Although being apprenticed to a member of the Jedi Council was a privilege in its own right, it was not without consequence, and the padawan's gaze dropped just a little. "Yes, master," Raven replied, quick to hide her disheartened expression.

She turned to Lakhri. "I don't need babysitting, I'm used to taking care of myself," she said, trying to sound nonchalant about it. "If you're bored and have nothing else to do, though, it could be fun to hang out?" Raven let that statement hang. Having Lakhri to hang around with would be cool, yet Raven was mindful not to take up his time if he had other things he needed to do.

"I know that you are used to taking care of yourself," Eeth remarked. "You have to do so quite frequently, unfortunately. That is why I thought you might like some company." He gave her a brief smile, bowed to Lakhri, turned and hurried towards the change rooms as fast as he could without actually running.

"Wow. He's actively trying to be nice," Lakhri commented. "You must have got to him."

Raven's brows rose at hearing that. She wasn't entirely sure what he meant, but decided to say nothing. For now.

"I'll see you home, then," said Lakhri. "Don't worry, I'm not going to babysit you, but I can help with your homework so you get it done faster, if you like."

"Yeah, I'd like that." She wrinkled her nose. "It's maths, and I hate maths. It ought to be illegal."

"Aww, c'mon, it's useful," Lakhri, who had never had any trouble with his academic subjects, said. "I'm quite good at it. If you have difficulties, I can explain stuff to you. Besides, you're doing me a favour if you let me enjoy your company a bit longer. I've had enough solitude during my mission."

That last part was true. Lakhri was by nature a sociable person, and he had had little company during the past two years. True, he had been part of a team of Jedi, but they had mostly spread out across the region and only interacted by comm calls. The other beings Lakhri had been surrounded by during the mission had been people he was charged to supervise, protect or fight. He had never been anywhere long enough to form friendships. So, the idea of spending the evening alone in his knight's quarters was not at all appealing to him, whereas he totally felt like helping Raven with her maths homework and maybe taking her to the dining hall for dinner. He liked the girl, and besides, he knew how daunting it could be to be Eeth's padawan. Maybe he could provide some enjoyment, within the limits that Eeth set.

Once home, Raven went straight for the cooler to pour a couple of glasses of water. She handed one to Lakhri. "Hey, can I ask you something?" she hedged, fidgeting with her sleeve. "I mean, I know I have to take a shower and finish my homework, and I will, but, I'm curious to know how come you and Eeth have such a…" She hesitated, searching for the right word. "'Easy' relationship? Has it always been like that between you?"

Lakhri took a seat on the living room carpet, took a sip of water and beckoned for Raven to sit down with him. He had been wondering how long it would take for that question to crop up. And he thought it deserved a proper answer.

"Not remotely," he replied. "It only became like that after I was knighted, and even then it took me several years to finally realise and actually believe that Eeth was not going to treat me like an unruly padawan any longer. He's very respectful that way. That's probably because he takes the rules so seriously; a padawan is a padawan and a knight is a knight in his book. Sure, he will tell me when he thinks I made a mistake, but he will not publicly reprimand me for it or punish me or anything. Well, he probably would if his position as a Council member required it, but not because he is my former master. In short, after being knighted, he considered me to be on equal terms with him. It wasn't like that at all when I was his padawan. He was not only horribly strict with me, but also horribly distant. I felt as if he did not care for me as a person at all; as if he was only doing his duty to the order, or following the will of the Force, by raising me towards knighthood. Whether he actually liked me or rather considered me a nuisance, I had no idea. That went on for quite a while, and I became increasingly unhappy and developed a tendency to act up in order to get his attention, any kind of attention, even if it was a caning. He had no idea why I was doing this, of course; even I did not see it clearly, but what was clear was that his punishments became harsher and harsher, and our relationship became more and more strained, until his master stepped in. I wasn't there, but apparently, she was rather drastic with him. And one of the really good things about him is that, once he realises he has made a mistake, he will always admit it and try to do better. He didn't become all warm and fuzzy, of course. That simply would not be like him at all. But he made more of an effort to establish a real bond with me, to talk to me and to make me feel accepted. And over time, I realised that it's just incredibly hard for him to show his feelings or demonstrate them. He does have feelings, but he finds it easier to keep them to himself and wear this distant mask. If you know him well, though, you notice that he shows his affection through little things, like short remarks that you hardly notice or assignments that prove he really trusts you. Believe me, he cares for you, and from what I've seen, he is making quite an effort to show it, although it might not feel like it to you. I've been there, you know."

He gave her a friendly smile and took another sip of water.

Raven was surprised at receiving such a complete answer to such a personal question. She had half expected to receive a friendly "yes", "no" or "later" response from Lakhri, after all. His words led the girl through a whirlwind of thoughts, feelings and insights. Mirroring his posture, Raven remained silent for what seemed like a very long time before meeting his gaze with a genuinely grateful expression. "Thanks for telling me about your side of this. I guess he does show he cares, even if it is in ways that I'm not used to. But sometimes I feel that I'm not good enough to be his apprentice, and that he regrets taking me as his padawan." Her nose wrinkled. "I did some pretty bad stuff on our last mission, stuff that really would cause him to feel that way if he didn't already."

"Yeah, I guessed that your mission did not have a stellar ending when you first talked about it," Lakhri admitted. "What did you do? Or would you prefer not to talk about it? That'd be fine with me. I don't mean to be nosy."

Raven gave him a slightly pained expression. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell him, it was to the contrary, but in her mind it was just so terrible that she thought Lakhri might just think as badly of her as she did of herself. After a moment, she looked up at him and decided that if he was willing to confide all that he had about his past with Eeth, she was ready to reciprocate.

"When we got the bomb threat, Eeth ordered me to stay with the guards. I did for the first part, but then a call came through about the King's gazelles and, well, I thought I could help them so I left to try." Raven winced at the memory. "It meant I was back in the palace and in danger, not that I had thought much about that at the time; I expected to succeed. Eeth ended up having to reenter the palace to carry me out. Both of us almost died, and Eeth seriously messed himself up with the extreme Force work it took to get us both out. It was a pretty bad decision. The Council threatened to put me on probation, and you can probably guess how Eeth dealt with me." Raven pulled her knees into her chest, hoping that Lakhri wouldn't think less of her making such a mess out of things and for almost killing his master.

Lakhri winced. "Yeah, I can. Let's see… He caned you until you just about thought you'd die and then he spanked you every day for a week?" Eeth was kind of predictable that way, in Lakhri's experience.

"Every night, yeah!" Raven was surprised that Lakhri had known that when, in hindsight, she probably shouldn't have been; he had been Eeth's apprentice long before her, after all. "It was pretty horrendous, the worst yet. He said that he couldn't take me on mission if he couldn't trust me, so I guess I won't be going on missions any time soon." Raven wasn't complaining, she simply sounded resigned.

Lakhri frowned.

"Why would you say so?" he asked. "I mean, Eeth is probably not the trusting type in the sense that he would trust you to always behave and never make mistakes. But even when I did make mistakes, he's always been willing to close the matter and move on. I mean, I messed up pretty badly on several occasions and he punished me pretty badly for it. But afterwards, he always trusted me to do better. I have a hard time imagining that this has changed. Or did he give you any particular reason to feel that he doesn't trust you any longer?"

"Yeah, kinda," Raven frowned. "I know that I'm not as old as the others or anything, but last week when everyone from She'am's class wanted to visit Eldora's markets, he wouldn't let me go," she explained, her tone carrying a hint of exasperation as she recalled the frustration. "Sometimes I feel like he expects the responsibility of an older padawan, but won't give me the freedom that goes with it."

"A lot of responsibility, that sounds like Eeth," Lakhri commented wryly. "But honestly, I don't think he's the type to unduly restrict your freedom. I mean, you're twelve. I really don't think that there are a lot of twelve-year-old padawans in the Temple who would have been allowed to go to Eldora's without an adult. I know that it can feel awkward when everyone in your class is older than you, which usually means they're allowed to do more. I've been there. Eeth sent me to an advanced stealth and evasion class when I was about thirteen. The average age of the other students was sixteen. It was quite daunting but he was right to send me; I was good enough to take that class and my skills improved enormously. Think about it like this: if Eeth sends you to a class like this, it means he trusted you to succeed at something that most others would think you are too young for."

"I know. I guess he trusts me to apply myself and pass the class, but, just not with the fun stuff that follows it," she summarised from Lakhri's comments and then felt guilty at having bombarded him with this. "Hey, I'm sorry, Lakhri, I don't mean to bust your chops or anything." She offered him a grin so he knew that she wasn't falling apart over this.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Lakhri said easily. "I mean, you've got to have someone to whine to, and Eeth definitely isn't that person. I at least had the luxury of a sympathetic grandmaster available to me, even if she could be a bit terrifying herself at times. But hardly ever towards me, luckily enough. No, Eeth wouldn't trust you with fun stuff, not knowing what the word means." He chuckled. "But honestly, I wouldn't feel too hard done-by," he added. "Eeth is actually reasonably fair about lessening restrictions when you get older. When I was around sixteen, I enjoyed freedoms many padawans my age didn't. Of course, when I messed up, I had to pay for it, but he once told me that there's no way I can learn to handle responsibility if I never have any. So don't despair. You are not actually all that old yet, although that probably sounds awfully patronising."

He jumped up and gave a friendly pat to Raven's back.

"Let's talk more later," he offered. "Eeth might be back any moment, and if he finds out we haven't even showered yet, he won't be pleased. I'll use his 'fresher. When you're done, let's get that math homework over with. Who knows, if you do a good job, he might let the two of us go out and do something fun."

"How can I learn to handle responsibility if I never have any? I like that, I'm going to use it, too!" Raven stood, her grin now a full smile, and then she went to take her shower. After all, the prospect of getting to do something fun with Lakhri was motivation in and of itself!

Twenty minutes later, a much cleaner padawan wandered into the kitchen, her hair still dripping slightly from the shower. She grabbed a handful of rice crackers, tossing them into a bowl, only to recall Lakhri's hollow legs and discard the bowl in lieu of the entire box. Maths didn't seem so bad when you had someone to laugh with, and after about half an hour, Raven was working away diligently on the final exercise.

At that moment, Eeth entered the apartment in swift strides, pleased to see a clean padawan working on her maths homework with Lakhri keeping her company. He trusted his former padawan not to do the actual work for Raven, and he did not mind him helping her. In fact, if he had minded, he would not even have considered making the request he was about to make.

"Padawan, Lakhri," he greeted, pulling out a chair and taking a seat at the table. "I am sorry to interrupt, but I need your attention for a moment."

Raven looked up from her work as Eeth entered. She was glad to see him return before she was sleeping, and even happier for the distraction. That he wanted their immediate and collective attention, however, had her apprehensive; something wasn't right, but Raven had no idea what it was.

Lakhri, too, immediately knew that something was going on. The fact that his former master had been called away all of a sudden, combined with his tone of voice, which was unusually serious even for Eeth, made it seem likely that he had received a critical assignment. He did not voice those thoughts, though; he merely rose from his spot on the floor and took a seat at the table, facing Eeth.

When two pairs of eyes were focussed on him, Eeth came straight to the point. "The Council have asked me to leave for a mission to Antar immediately," he said. "A separatist organisation has committed a terrorist attack that is threatening the fragile truce I helped negotiate a year ago. I am the only available person familiar with the conflict and well-known to at least some of the parties involved. This mission is dangerous, so unfortunately, there is absolutely no question of you joining me, Raven. This will probably only be for a week or so. Either the problem is resolved until then, or there will be a full-fledged civil war, in which case a single Jedi will not be much use; backup teams or even Republican troops might be sent. As Lakhri will be staying at the Temple for a while, I would like to ask him to move in with you and look after you while I am gone."

Raven looked from Eeth to Lakhri, but was still digesting this.

"Uh, sure," Lakhri said, surprised, but quite happy at the prospect of getting to spend some time with his padawan 'sister'. He wasn't worried about Eeth. If anyone could look after himself, it was his former master!

Unlike Lakhri, Raven lacked experience with this sort of thing, and, despite Eeth's prowess as a Jedi, she was immediately concerned. Sure, the padawan had known that the time would come when Eeth was called on a mission that she was not yet skilled enough to join. That this would happen right now, however, took the padawan off guard.

"Uh, you're going alone? But what if something happens to you? There will be nobody there!" The image of Republican troops packing blasters and rolling droideka flitted through her mind. "I want to come, too." Raven wasn't naive enough to think that she could protect Eeth, but they were a team. Besides, she was advanced for her age and wouldn't be a hindrance, Raven was sure of that…

Eeth had seen that coming. And unfortunately, he had no time for it.

"Padawan, there is no way you can join me on a mission of this calibre until you have obtained advanced mission clearance," he said in a voice that brooked no opposition. "You may trust me to be able to handle this mission and come back in one piece; it is not as if I have not done it before. Now, you can either accept it or you can continue talking back and say goodbye to me with a sore bottom. I would much prefer it if you were sensible about this because, among other reasons, I have to present myself at the hangar in exactly twenty-six minutes and could make better use of the remaining time than having to spank some sense into you."

Lakhri winced. He had no doubts that his former master meant business. In fact, he had been in the same situation once, had not been wise enough to keep his mouth shut and had had to endure the consequences. He tried to convey as much to Raven by shaking his head warningly, hoping that she would take notice. He had no illusions that he was going to be able to protect Raven from Eeth's wrath when the man was on the warpath!

"Wait, what?! You can't spank me for caring about your safety," Raven protested, her arms folded across her chest and chin coming out in a way that Eeth would recognise as stubborn defiance. She wanted to protest that it wasn't her with the trust issues here, but the earlier conversation with Lakhri had her thinking twice about accusing him of that. Lakhri's warning had not gone unnoticed, but the girl was totally taken off guard by all of this!

"I can spank you for disobeying my instructions and delaying my departure," Eeth snapped. "And I will if you insist. I would rather not, though. Could we consider this discussion closed so I can pack my bags?"

He could, and Raven's chin dropped at the reminder. She wanted desperately to be by his side, but at the same time, she knew that pushing him further would end painfully. So it was that she uttered a reluctant: "Yes, master," because what options was Eeth giving her here?

Lakhri breathed an audible sigh of relief. He had no interest in witnessing any kind of showdown and was glad that it had been avoided.

"Thank you, padawan," Eeth said quietly, standing and briefly resting a hand on Raven's head in a comforting gesture. "This is making things much easier for both of us. And I fully appreciate how difficult this is for you." He really did, partly because he had shown similar reactions at her age, although maybe more composed ones. He had not backed off as easily which had led to a number of unpleasant scenes.

Raven remained silent; she wasn't at all happy about this, even if she wasn't allowed to voice it.

"I am going to pack my things now," Eeth said, withdrawing his hand. "I will be back soon to talk things through with Lakhri."

The padawan watched him leave, sighed and then looked up at Lakhri. "Thanks for saying you'll stay with me," she said, doing her best not to mope. The urge to run after Eeth and further plead her case was strong, yet Raven refrained for now.

After ten minutes, Eeth returned and set down his bag next to the door.

"Let us go through Raven's schedule briefly," he said to Lakhri. "She should stay on top of her classes and her physical training while I am gone. Before we get to that, though, one thing."

He turned to Raven. "Padawan," he said, "I expect you to behave for Lakhri just as you would for me. He is in charge of you while I am gone, so you will mind him. And he has the right to call you to task for misbehaviour in any way that he sees fit. Is that clear?"

"Yes, master, crystal," replied Raven, her tone a touch indignant at being talked to like a youngling. Lakhri seemed like an easy-going enough kinda guy, so there was little doubt in her mind that they would get along famously. What she did doubt was the wisdom of Eeth doing this dangerous mission all alone. "Couldn't you take Lakhri with you?" she hedged, mindful to make the query as close to a suggestion as humanly possible.

"No," said Eeth. "I have my orders from the Council, and so has Lakhri, who is in no state to embark on the mission one day after having returned from his last one. There is no need to debate this any further. Let us talk things through with Lakhri and head for the hangar together, if you would like to join me."

In truth, Lakhri was more than a little worried about the prospect of having to call Raven to task for one thing or another. Sure, he was not going to impersonate Eeth and start buying enough spanking implements to fill a cupboard, but what was he going to do when she broke a rule or disobeyed? For the moment, he decided to simply hope that this was not going to happen. Anyway, he had to focus on listening to Eeth, who now briefly outlined their daily routine, Raven's chores and lessons, her curfew and the things she was cleared and not cleared to do with the Force or a lightsaber. As usual, the explanation was concise, to the point and conclusive, and Lakhri really had no questions left.

"Good," said Eeth. "Then I need to get going."

"Go ahead, you two," Lakhri said with a smile. "I'm only going to slow you down. Besides, I think two fond farewells are more than Eeth will be able to handle."

"Very funny," Eeth said, stony-faced. "Are you coming, Raven?"

Raven wasn't certain whether Lakhri's offer to stay behind was to do with Eeth's comfort or to provide her with a moment alone with her master before he departed. In either case, the girl nodded her head in recognition of his thoughtfulness and left with Eeth.

They walked in companionable silence for a moment or so before an idea occurred to Raven. Her face lit up. "Maybe I could stay on the ship while you're doing the mission? That way I wouldn't technically be on the mission with you, I would just be waiting?" It was a solid theory, although she wasn't sure what Eeth would make of it.

Eeth glared at her. "Padawan, I said the topic was closed," he snapped. "And that is still true."

Okay, so apparently not much… Raven winced at receiving the look, and didn't dare say any more about it. Instead, she talked to him about the ins and outs of his mission – How far was it? What would he have to do? – until they reached the hangar bay.

The other two members of Eeth's team, a very tall Kel'Dor and a middle-aged slim human female, were already waiting at the ramp.

"Well, goodbye, padawan," Eeth said a little awkwardly. Lakhri was right: he hated this part because he never knew what to do; but he also suspected that it would have seemed exceedingly cold to Raven if he had said his goodbyes to her back in their quarters.

"I will hopefully be back in a week," he said, "and I will comm you when I can. Do not neglect your meditations while I am gone. You might be able to connect with me if you stay focussed."

He enclosed her in a brief hug, allowing himself to send a brief surge of affection through their bond.

The hug was returned with a little more gusto on Raven's part; Eeth might be a hard-ass but he was her master, and she loved him very much. Still, that Eeth found this awkward was nothing new to Raven. Thus, she did not drag it out unduly and instead, gave a mock-salute in response to his instructions, returning the brief smile this drew from Eeth. "May the Force be with you, master."

"And with you, padawan," Eeth said solemnly, turned and entered the spaceship.

Raven sat on the platform until his ship was nothing more than a pinprick on the horizon, and then she sat there for a while longer thinking about how good it would be when he returned… And he would come back, nothing was going to happen, she reassured herself. With one last glance at the skyline, the padawan decided it was time to leave.

Half an hour later, Raven palmed open the door to their quarters to the sounds of what must be Lakhri unpacking in Eeth's bedroom. She stuck her head around his open door and gave a weak smile. "Heya."

Lakhri had made use of the time during which Raven was gone in order to fetch a few sets of clothes and some other things from his quarters and put them into the wardrobe in Eeth's room where Eeth had told him to sleep while he was away. He then used Eeth's private comm to make a few calls concerning the classes he was supposed to teach; he would not be able to teach afternoon classes until Eeth was back, after all. He had just finished his last call when he heard Raven enter the apartment.

"Hi," he said, giving her a sympathetic smile. "That was all very sudden, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. I mean it's not like I'm unaccustomed to being left behind or anything. Eeth does it all the time. It's just that he doesn't usually leave the Temple, let alone the system!" Raven leant into his door and started playing with her hair, a sign that anyone who knew her well would associate with feelings of vulnerability and perhaps, apprehension.

"I know," Lakhri said sympathetically. Raven had it worse than him, in that regard. When he had been taken as a padawan, Eeth had still been a rather young knight and therefore had had no pressing duties that prevented him from looking after Lakhri. That had changed over time, but by the time it had, Lakhri had been old enough to accompany Eeth on missions of all kinds. He could only recall a few occasions on which he had been left at the Temple with his grandmaster, and those had been short and not involved much danger for Eeth; usually, he had been prevented from joining his master because of exams or important classes.

He decided to take Raven's mind off things. "Let's get your maths homework finished. There wasn't much left of it. If you do a good job, we could go out for a couple of hours. I would love that. I haven't been in the city for ages. Is there any place in particular that you'd like to go to?"

Raven's expression brightened a little at this; it was a school night, and so getting the opportunity to go out was the last thing she had expected! "Force, yes, but," Raven paused, looking contemplative. "Will you take me to your favourite place instead? I bet it's amazing."

"My favorite place?" Lakhri asked in surprise. He had to think about this; there were any number of places in Coruscant that were interesting and that he liked to visit, but favorite places were something he rather associated with more beautiful planets. There was one place in particular that he had loved as a junior padawan, though, and still enjoyed. Raven was going to love it, he was sure of it.

"We should go to Tree World," he finally proposed. "It's like an arboretum, but huge. The trees are centuries old. They're connected by bridges; they have rope ladders, elevators, tree houses, tree harps, everything. A whole world up in the trees. They even have restaurants." Which was always a concern of Lakhri's!

The mental picture of a slightly tech-savvy Endor suspended in the trees had Raven fascinated. "A world in the trees, that sounds amazing!" she replied animatedly, her mind suddenly filled with images of swinging from vines, rope ladders and, tree harps? What tha-? "What's a tree harp?" she asked, feeling comfortable enough to move into the room and sit on Eeth's bed.

"They have strings attached to branches of trees and the wind moves them and creates tunes," Lakhri said. "We could get dinner from the Alderaanian food stall at the entrance. They have these amazing snack boxes with all kinds of pickled and stuffed vegetables and cheese, and wonderful bread with herbs to go with it. Another thing I've been looking forward to. Admittedly, even the dining hall is an improvement over the stuff I've been forced to eat over the last two years. Anyway, let's finish your homework and get going. It's quite a trip from here, and you've got classes tomorrow."

"Yes! I'll go grab my datapad!" Raven replied excitedly, running from the room. It was good to have something to think about other than Eeth's departure.

As Raven took off, it occurred to Lakhri that it was going to be next to impossible to be back in time for Raven's curfew. It was a long way from the Temple, and Tree World was huge. Once they were there, there was no point in leaving without having explored at least part of it. Eeth would almost certainly have reserved trips like this for the rare free Sunday, not for a weekday night. But what Eeth did not know would not hurt him, Lakhri reasoned. After all, both Raven and himself deserved some time off after the shock of Eeth's sudden departure!


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you ready to leave?" asked Lakhri as Raven emerged from her room, her maths homework completed and stowed away.

"Ready!" Raven replied excitedly, snagging her cloak and saber on route to the door. This was going to be awesome, and the girl was ecstatic that Lakhri had offered to take her. Besides, he could have just as easily sent her to bed and gone by himself.

"Then let's get going," said Lakhri with a grin.

"Want me to warm up a speeder for you?" Raven offered as they made their way to the hangar.

Lakhri smiled. "No need," he said amicably. "The Temple has plenty of speeders. You can afford to walk at my pace. I move at Force-enhanced speed if necessary, but I only draw on that skill when I really need to, like when an annoyed Zabrak is after me or something."

Raven snorted; she had seen how fast Lakhri could move, after all, and doubted that speed was really the issue here. More likely it was her request to warm up their speeder. Well, that was reasonable enough; Eeth never let her either. Still, his comment garnered serious curiosity. "You ran from Eeth? For real? Why? And, did it work?" Because, for a number of reasons, running from Eeth was one thing that Raven had not yet attempted.

Chuckling, Lakhri ushered Raven into a turbolift and pressed the code for the speeder garage, which was only accessible to senior padawans, knights and masters.

"No, of course not," he said. "It was sheer idiocy. In my defense, I have to point out that at the time, I didn't know him yet. I was on my way back to the creche, coming from lightsaber training with a group of other initiates. There was a couple of younger human initiates who thought it was a hilarious idea to make fun of my size. They were about eight and I was nearly twelve and yet, they were taller than me, which they found highly amusing. I got that all the time and I wasn't very good at dealing with it. Still, I tried hard to ignore them. They attempted to trip me up several times, but I was mindful and managed to avoid them. However, they were pretty determined to have some fun at my expense. They jumped on me, each of them grabbed one of my legs and then they lifted me up and tried to pin me to a tree in one of the courtyards. There was a cut-off branch that formed a kind of hook, which they wanted to hang me from by the back of my tunic. At that point, I decided to defend myself by Force-pushing them, sending all three of us flying. That might have been excusable, under the circumstances, but I was so angry that I half Force-pushed, half levitated both of them into the fountain. And they hit the bottom of that fountain pretty hard. When I turned, I found myself confronted with a very stern-looking Zabrak who was towering over me, his arms folded across his chest in that ominous way that I am sure you know."

Raven did know, but she was hooked on his every last word and wanted to hear more. Thus, she only nodded an understanding, urging him to continue.

"I completely lost it," continued Lakhri. "I ran from him at Force-enhanced speed, I didn't even know where. Well, at the end of the day, I had a very sore bottom and found myself apprenticed to Eeth Koth. Apparently, he was very impressed with my Force control. Of course, it was something I had been forced to acquire, being short of physical advantages."

They had arrived in the speeder garage by the time Lakhri had finished the story. He motioned Raven towards a small convertible speeder and picked up the ignition control.

Raven jumped in and buckled her restraints, still reeling from Lakhri's story. Eeth hardly ever told her stories of his youth, let alone those of the misspent youth kind! So it was a nice change for her.

"I can see why you'd want revenge," Raven commented as Lakhri began piloting them from the hangar. "It's not the Jedi way or anything, but I can understand." She shot him a cheeky grin, and then they took off skyward into the highest traffic lane that would lead them to another sector of the planet.

"No, it's not the Jedi way," Lakhri said quietly. "I learned that the hard way. And Eeth would have none of it, of course. Now let me focus on where we need to go for a moment. I haven't been out here for two years."

When they had leveled out, and Lakhri was no longer concentrating on which lane to take, Raven started talking again; it was hard to keep her quiet for long. "Eeth said I might manage to contact him through our bond if I work hard enough. You're pretty good at that stuff. Maybe you could help me? I mean, if you have time and all." To be honest, Raven wasn't really sure how much time Lakhri would have to spend with her; he had his own teaching assignments and duties to fulfill, after all.

"Of course I will," said Lakhri. "I got rid of my afternoon classes so I have time for you. I'll do my teaching in the mornings when you're at school. The Council know I am taking care of you and have adjusted my schedule accordingly. So, I'll totally help you with meditation and I'll supervise your workouts and teach you Force work and all that. I look forward to getting to know you better, even if it was kind of unexpected." He shot her a quick grin.

"Unexpected for sure," she agreed, "but not unwanted. I'm glad you are here. It's nice to relax for a bit, you know?"

She leaned back into her seat a little, taking in the scenery. "Do you still share a training bond with Eeth?" she asked, because this was something that Raven was curious about.

"No," said Lakhri. "I won't be able to sense him. But you might be. Then again, you might not. Better not expect too much from your first attempts. I'll be glad to meditate with you, in any case. If you like, we can also work on Force-aided moves in our training sessions. I'm pretty good at Force-enhanced speed, Force-aided aerials, Force-pushes and the like, if you don't mind me saying so. These things can come in handy."

"I bet, and yeah, I'd be up for that if you're willing. Thanks!" And Raven really meant that.

Lakhri grinned again. "And I can really see how you might want to relax for a bit. For me, it was usually my grandmaster who took over the role of toning down Eeth's … umm … demanding nature a little."

"I never did get to meet Fenya, and Eeth doesn't really talk much about," Raven paused, frowning, "well, about anything personal," she looked up, her frown lessening slightly. "He can be cagey that way. It sometimes feels like he spends more time punishing me than anything else, and our training bond is the only way in which I can take some comfort and not feel like i'm failing miserably or like I'm too much trouble."

Lakhri grimaced. "Oh, I know that feeling alright," he replied. "I practically spent the first few months of my padawanhood standing up. – Well, no, I didn't, not really; after all, Eeth would nearly always offer some healing after he punished me. But you get the gist. I simply could not control my tongue. I guess I had developed an aptitude for sarcasm because being able to defend yourself with words is crucial when your size and strength don't impress anyone. Unfortunately, sarcasm did not impress Eeth at all. After a few years, though, I came to realise that what I experienced, and what you are experiencing right now, is not all that uncommon. True, Eeth is stricter than the average master. But almost any master's expectations are high, and almost every initiate becoming a padawan has a hard time coming to terms with them. And the fact that the Force usually teams you up with a complete stranger does not help. In Eeth's case, it wasn't so much the fact that he constantly had to punish me that was hard to bear; it was more that it was so hard to get to know him better and feel closer to him. The only time that really worked was when we were meditating. For everything else, for actually getting to know the man, I had to rely on my grandmaster. So, I can totally relate to what you just said. But I also have to point out that he's improved a lot. He was so much worse when he took me as a padawan!"

He changed to a lower traffic lane and steered the speeder into a wide, open area bordering on a large expanse of green.

Raven smiled at hearing all that; it was good to have someone to talk to about this who actually understood what she was going through firsthand. "I guess for me the bit that hurts the most is much more painful than whining about getting spanked, it's the fact that he so… detached." She looked out onto the traffic and sighed. "I do believe you when you say he cares for me, though. I can tell that when we meditate, even if he has a hard time showing it. Anyway, I can take care of myself, and I never expected him to coddle me or anything. He's not the coddling sort of master." Raven turned her attention back to Lakhri, shooting him a wry grin.

"I know," Lakhri said with a sigh, steering the speeder into a garage and looking for a free slot. "Wouldn't that have been nice every once in a while? But then, he's Eeth. He's not good at showing that he cares, even when he does. And I know that can hurt at times. If it does, you should talk to him about it. He'll be okay with that. He knows about his shortcomings, and he's actually making an effort to overcome them. I could see that when I saw him interacting with you. He's often not aware how detached he comes across, and he will need to be told, else he won't be able to improve."

He parked the speeder in an empty booth and turned towards Raven. "You are right about not expecting him to coddle you, though," he added with a grin. "He'd never."

Given that the idea of telling Eeth he sucked at anything made her uncomfortable, Raven ignored Lakhri's advice to talk to Eeth for now. Instead:"I know, right? Imagine the horror!" Raven agreed; if Eeth ever coddled her she would indeed start to worry. She followed Lakhri towards a large entrance between two enormous trees where he bought tickets for both of them.

"Let's go to the food court first and get our dinner," Lakhri proposed. "The snack stalls are all in tree houses around the central Ulussa tree. It is said that the tree has been there for longer than anyone can remember. They built Tree World around it."

Hearing of the Ulussa tree had Raven intrigued. Sure, the Temple was not without its own botanical wonders. The Great Tree that grew in the center of the Temple, for instance, was both Force-sensitive and beyond ancient, but this was all new and hence incredibly exciting. So much so that Raven was impatient to see it all. "Are we nearly there?" she asked after having walked for what felt like a long time to her.

"In a moment," Lakhri said with a smile. Suddenly, the canopy of trees beneath which they were walking opened up and gave way to an enormous clearing with a tree so large that all they could see was trunk. Everywhere around the trunk there were wooden stalls on several levels, most of which could be reached by ladders, ropes or flying platforms. Lakhri led the way to the Alderaanian take-away that he had mentioned and bought a large meal of vegetables, cheese and bread with herbs.

"Whoa!" Raven said in awe: this was amazing!

"Let's look for a quiet spot in some tree that offers a good view," Lakhri proposed. "Then we can tuck in."

Truth be told, he was getting worried about the time. They would have to leave right about now in order to be back at the Temple any time remotely near Raven's curfew. But now they had just arrived, it would simply be stupid to leave immediately. Besides, Lakhri reasoned, the girl needed a break after what she had been through today!

Had Raven been privy to Lakhri's thoughts, she would have agreed wholeheartedly! As it was, the padawan simply continued to be in awe of the huge spectacle.

Ten minutes later, they were perched on a kind of ledge high up in a huge maple tree on a hill, enjoying a magnificent view of an enormous expanse of trees. As it was a weekday, the place was not too crowded. Although there was a fair amount of people, they were swallowed up by the large area, and it was actually possible to imagine that the place was lonely.

"This is as close to enjoying nature as one can get on this planet," Lakhri remarked, taking a huge bite of bread.

"It's amazing, really amazing!" Raven agreed, her gaze locked on the horizon for a long moment before she scooted up beside him to help herself to some herb bread.

"So, do the Council plan to keep you at the Temple for a while, or is it just a short-term sort of thing? You know, like, until they find some other planet with horrible food to send you to?" Raven asked.

"Not too short-term, by Jedi standards,I think," Lakhri replied. "They're planning on keeping me at the Temple for at least the rest of this academic cycle and the next, so I should have a minimum of three months. They're also not likely to assign me another long-term mission like the last one in a hurry. They do tend to give us a rest after having been away for so long."

Lakhri was also seriously thinking about taking on a padawan. The coming months would be a good opportunity to find out whether the Force guided him to any particular person. He did not know whether Raven would like the idea or feel jealous about it, though, so he decided not to voice it until his plans became more concrete.

As they were eating, Lakhri asked Raven questions about her classes. They spent a while exchanging horror stories about Master Rool's liberal use of the cane while they devoured every last bit of the generous picnic that Lakhri had bought. Then, Lakhri took Raven on a tour. They explored Tree World for about an hour and a half, climbing across narrow bridges and scaling rope ladders, until the sky darkened and an amplified voice informed them that the gardens would be closed in half an hour.

"Oh well, we can always come back on weekends," Lakhri said with a contented sigh as they made their way to one of the speed capsules that would bring them to the exit. "You might end up with a free Sunday every once in a while. Unless Eeth finds a way to fill it, that is."

"Oh, he will totally try to fill it, you of all people should know that," Raven replied, shooting him a knowing grin. Raven didn't waste a second of their capsule ride. In fact, she spent every moment looking out the windows, asking questions and generally talking Lakhri's leg off. This continued as they made their way to the speeder. It did not occur to Raven to check the time until she yawned. "Wow, almost nine." The padawan winced. "Gee, I really hope Eeth didn't try contacting us."

"Yeah, same here," Lakhri admitted a tad uncomfortably. "If he has, I'll take all the blame. I have no doubt that it's me he'll hold responsible anyway. I've probably been a poor excuse for a master tonight. I just got kind of carried away; and I really thought you could use a break."

"Nah, you're a wonderful master, take it from me. Besides, you were right, I did need a break; Eeth works me into the ground. You know, I once told him that he was in breach of the Republic's anti-slavery laws." She tilted her head to one side. "That went down like a lead balloon. Anyway, I don't expect you to shoulder all the blame here; I wanted to come, too, you know."

Lakhri actually choked a little when he heard that. Since when was he "wonderful"?

In any case, he had no illusions about how fantastic Eeth would find this evening's time schedule and whom he would hold responsible for it. He also knew that Eeth had never treated him as anything but a grown-up since he had been knighted, so his own chances of escaping this predicament unharmed were decidedly better than Raven's.

"Raven, it was my decision to take you out to Tree World," he said. "You could have no idea how long this was going to take. I did, and I went along with it anyway. No, Raven, I would feel rather despicable if I let you take even part of the blame. For the moment, let's just hope that Eeth hasn't tried to call. If he has, I'll be the one to deal with him. And you will most likely be asleep when that happens. You really need to go to bed as soon as we are back in our quarters, or you will be tired out in class tomorrow."

The girl sighed, deflated, but did not argue with him. Ordinarily, she might have argued this, but they had just met and Raven wasn't sure that she wanted to start disagreeing with his instructions this early on in their friendship. Apparently, Lakhri was eager to endure her master's wrath for them both, and there wasn't much she could do about that, at least for now.

It occurred to Lakhri that they were supposed to perform an evening meditation before Raven went to bed. Pondering this for a moment, he decided that sleep was more important right now.

"We can make up for your evening meditation with some special Force work training tomorrow," he proposed as he headed for the entrance to the Temple's speeder hangar.

"That's the best idea you've had since going to Tree World," Raven replied. She still wasn't thrilled with his decision to take all the blame, but then, he had been Eeth's apprentice for longer and must know what he was doing.

Lakhri was glad when they finally reached the Temple's speeder deck and he could park their vessel. It had been an enjoyable outing, but he had not fully recovered from his mission yet and was beginning to feel the strain. He assumed that Raven must be tired as well.

"Alright, Raven," he said the moment they entered her quarters, making a point of not looking at the comm unit. "Please get ready for bed immediately, it's quite late. I'll be in to say goodnight in five minutes, alright?"

Raven yawned, nodded and moved to comply, only to pause. "Thanks for taking me to Tree World, it was the best," she told him. And Raven really was grateful for that. The flashing comm unit had not gone unnoticed. Lakhri's deliberate avoidance of it did little to ease the apprehension, it simply fuelled her guilt. If that message was from Eeth, he was probably going to tear him a new one, and she could think of no way to help him. Well, no way to help without disregarding his earlier comments about it being his responsibility. But would that be such a bad thing? It was not as if Lakhri was anything like Eeth, Raven mused while absent-mindedly trying to force a foot into the sleeve of her sleep shirt. Besides, even if he was, surely he wouldn't bust her ass when she was trying so hard to save his! A sharp ripping noise pulled the girl from her musings, and she peered down at her torn sleep shirt with a frown.

Four minutes later, Raven had managed to clothe herself and was about to climb into bed when she heard Lakhri activate their comm unit. Raven pressed an ear to her closed door, and was about to risk sliding it open when an incoming call interrupted the playback. Immediately recognising Eeth's voice, the padawan dropped into a crouch, pressing an ear to the closed door. Why? No idea! But it felt like a good idea.

Unfortunately for Raven, Lakhri's Force awareness was very well-developed, and eavesdropping on him was rarely successful.

"Master," he said in greeting, inclining his head respectfully when a holographic picture of Eeth appeared in front of him. "One moment, please."

Turning towards Raven's bedroom, he said loudly and firmly: "I thought I told you to go to bed. Do it. I'll be with you in a few minutes."

Now how the Force did he know? How!? Raven ripped her ear away from the door and practically tripped over herself getting into bed because, despite wanting to listen in, she really didn't want to piss either of them off.

Lakhri sensed Raven's compliance but he still felt it was safer to transfer this talk to Eeth's bedroom, where he firmly closed the door behind himself.

"I'm sorry that we weren't here earlier, master," he said honestly. "It was entirely my fault. I offered to take Raven out after she had completed her homework and chores. She asked about my favorite place in Coruscant, and I got kind of carried away and went to Tree World with her. I didn't think we'd be home quite that late."

Catching the look of scathing disapproval on Eeth's face, he added guiltily: "Well, okay, maybe I did. I didn't really think about it at the time. But I realise it was a mistake. We were home far too late, given that it's a school day tomorrow. I sent Raven to bed immediately but that was only a few minutes ago."

Eeth was silent for a moment. Then he said quietly: "Lakhri, I realise that this is difficult for you. This was thrown at you when you were hardly back at the Temple, and we did not even have the time to talk things through properly. But you need to bear in mind that I left you in charge. And that means, however well the two of you get along, you are neither peers nor equals. You might feel like a friend or a brother to Raven, but first and foremost, you are in authority over her and you are the one making the decisions. That is a big responsibility. I do not think I need to point out that tonight's decision was a rather poor one."

"No," Lakhri said sheepishly. "I know that. It won't happen again. I… I guess I wanted to take Raven's mind off things, because your departure has really hit her hard. That, and I was eager to get out into the city myself, after this long mission. I set the wrong priorities."

"You did," Eeth affirmed. "And I trust you to learn from it."

"I will," Lakhri said. "I am really sorry. I guess the role of substitute master will take some getting used to."

"Of course," Eeth replied more gently. "And I do not expect you to be perfect. But please make more of an effort to mind Raven's schedule than you did tonight."

"I will," Lakhri said again. "Would you like to talk to Raven?"

"Not when she is supposed to be in bed, no," Eeth replied. "If she is still awake, which is probably the case, tell her I will call her tomorrow morning before school. I will still be on my way to Antar then."

"Alright, Eeth," said Lakhri. "Good night!"

"Good night, Lakhri," said Eeth. "May the Force be with you." He gave his former padawan a brief smile before the holo projection flickered off.

With a deep sigh of relief at having survived this talk, Lakhri rose, hoping to find Raven in bed.

When he entered, he did indeed find Raven in her bed, albeit seated, untangling her short padawan's braid. She had gone through her evening routine as per usual which meant that her teeth were brushed, face washed and she was clad in a sleep shirt and underpants.

She looked up with a slightly sheepish expression, but didn't trying offering excuses. At least, not yet. "Heya," she said cautiously. "How did it go with Eeth? You're still alive, I see. Was it very bad?"

Lakhri sat down next to Raven on the edge of her bed. "Let me help you with that," he said gently, knowing from personal experience how awkward it was to comb out a braid that started behind one's ear. Of course, she could have done it herself but it felt like a kind gesture.

Starting to disentangle her braid with deft fingers, he said with a crooked grin: "Well, as you can see, I am still alive. Needless to say, Eeth wasn't impressed. He expects me to mind your schedule. And I will, from now on."

"Aw, you don't have to, honest, I won't hold it against you or anything," Raven quipped, smiling cheekily. It felt comforting to have Lakhri help with her braid. When he had finished, she scooted around to face him. "Eeth didn't want to talk to me?" she asked, her expression curious. The truth was, she was a little bit hurt by that, but she was hiding it.

"Not when you were supposed to be in bed," said Lakhri in a near-perfect imitation of Eeth's 'mind the rules' tone of voice. "He said he'd definitely call tomorrow morning to speak to you, specifically."

Raven chuckled at his impersonation of Eeth. "You did that rather well," she commented, his humour taking the edge off the hurt she felt.

Lakhri grinned. "Well, I've lived with him long enough," he said. Squeezing her shoulder affectionately, he asked: "Will you be able to go to sleep, or do you need help? I'm sorry if that question offends you; it's just that I have hardly any idea what habits and needs you have."

"Why would it offend me?" Raven asked, honestly puzzled.

Lakhri shrugged. "I dunno. If you don't have trouble falling asleep, the question might have seemed patronising. If it didn't, that's all for the better. So, do you need help?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," Raven admitted. She had never refused the offer of a sleep compulsion before, possibly because it really was hard to quiet her mind. It was just a part of her personality that she had to live with. Before he could start, though, Raven put her hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for taking me to Tree World, it was awesome."

Lakhri smiled. "You're welcome," he said. "Let's go again soon when we have time. Now come on, lie back and try to sleep."

He rested his hand on her forehead and sent her a sleep compulsion through the Force. A minute later, she was asleep.

About five hours later, Raven sprang from her bed as if it were on fire. Gasping for breath, she immediately cupped a silencing hand over her mouth and crouched in an effort at calming herself. The dream had been so real; she could still see Eeth working steadily to get the remaining passengers into one of Tree World's capsules as the 'ship' continued to self-destruct. Raven had begged him to run, to secure a pod before it was too late, but he would not listen.

"Padawan!" Eeth had barked, causing Raven to whip around and face him. To her knowledge, only her master could make that title sound like a threat.

"You were told to board a capsule. You have your orders. Now. Get. Going!"

Too fatigued to be humiliated, Raven had obeyed reflexively, dragging the handful of people remaining into a capsule and jettisoning. She glanced at the babe in her arms who, in logic that only works in dreams, now had Lakhri's Force presence! Raven had watched in silent horror as the ship released its final pod and her master's presence continued fading until it was gone completely from the Force.

"Stupid! Stupid!" Raven chanted, catching her breath and flopping back onto her bed. This was ridiculous. Eeth was well able to take care of himself. Of course he was!

Another hour passed by but the girl still could not sleep. A quick glance at her watch confirmed that she had a good hour or so before it was time to get up, and not wanting to bother Lakhri any more than she wanted to risk him vetoing, she dressed and silently slipped from their quarters.

The room of a thousand fountains was not exactly the padawan's room of choice, yet it was the first place in the Temple that she could think of. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had been a six-year-old initiate, carefully mirroring the Katarn's path up the room's largest fountain wall.

"Trouble you will find, if higher you climb," Yoda had said as he levitated her to safety. The memory made her smile and she held onto it, hoping to use the peace she felt to focus and try connecting with Eeth.

It was peaceful in the room of a thousand fountains, and the girl soon felt much better for her efforts. Unfortunately, despite determination and perseverance, she was unable to sense any sign of Eeth's Force presence. Raven's meditation skills were simply not advanced enough to reach across such distances, although she might have managed with Lakhri's help.

Lakhri woke up with a sense of unease for which he could not figure out a reason at first. Glancing at his clock, he decided that he might as well get up and take a long shower; luxuries like these had been rare in the past two years. However, he could not shake off his unease. Only when he entered the common room, showered, shaved and dressed, did he realise that the apartment felt strangely empty. Quietly, in case he was mistaken, he peeked into Raven's bedroom, only to find that she was nowhere to be seen.

"Great," he groaned, plopping down on the couch. He had no idea whether the girl had a habit of undertaking early-morning strolls or whether there was cause for concern. As she had not taken her comlink, he had no way of tracing her, so he decided to prepare breakfast and hope she would show up in time for it.

He heaved a sigh of relief when Raven finally entered the door.

"Wherever you have been, please don't do that again," he said weakly. "For that matter, WHERE have you been? Should I expect you to be out for a walk every morning?"

Raven had the good grace to appear sheepish; it was not like she did this sort of thing all the time. "Sorry, Lakhri," she said, her guilt amping up a notch at the worried expression on his face. "I had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep, so I went to meditate in the room of a thousand fountains. I thought I might be able to sense Eeth, but, I couldn't. I don't do it every morning or anything."

"You might have tried meditating with me," said Lakhri. "I'm pretty sure the two of us would have managed. More importantly, didn't it occur to you to leave a note?"

"To be honest, no," Raven admitted, feeling rather stupid for not having thought of that. The thing was, at the time she hadn't really had any solid plan. "I'm sorry, Lakhri. I won't do it again. Promise. Are we good?" But what Raven really wanted to know was whether or not Lakhri was going to impose some sort of consequence, or if they could just move on.

"Yeah, we are," said Lakhri. He wasn't about to start their day by swatting Raven for such a minor thing! He might, though, if she did it again. At least he hoped he would.

"Come on, let's have breakfast," he proposed.

"Great idea!" Raven replied, glad that he wasn't going to hold a grudge. "Eeth hasn't called yet, has he?" she enquired hopefully while moving to help him set the table.

"No," said Lakhri. "I'm sure he'll–" At that precise moment, the comm unit beeped.

"You get it," Lakhri offered with a smile.

It was indeed Eeth, and he was glad to see his padawan, even though she looked a little more tired than he would have liked.

"Good morning, padawan," he said with a small smile. "Are you alright?"

Raven offered a slight bow and returned his smile. "Yes, I'm okay," she said, brushing off his concern and eager to hear about more interesting things like: "Are you okay? Have you landed yet," and, "when will you be back?"

"No, I have not landed yet," Eeth replied. "I will arrive this afternoon. At this point, there is no way of telling how long I will need to stay. The trip has been entirely uneventful; I have done nothing more exciting than read mission briefings and meditate. Incidentally, have you tried to connect with me through meditation?"

"Gee, sounds boring," Raven thought aloud upon hearing about his trip so far. Her nose wrinkled at his question; she didn't really want to confess to taking an early morning stroll around the Temple. "I tried, but it didn't work. Lakhri said he would help me," she settled on.

"You should really try this with Lakhri," Eeth agreed. "He is very good at everything related to Force work. I think I sensed you briefly during this morning's meditation, but you could not quite connect with me. Try it again tonight. It might be harder then, though, since I will most likely not be meditating myself. Besides, you look tired." He pointed a half-stern look at her.

Raven was surprised that he had sensed her, but pleasantly so. Plus, it gave her incentive to want to try harder. She picked at invisible lint on her tunic, trying to look casual.

"I'm not tired," she lied and, hoping to keep Eeth's attention away from further blaming Lakhri, added: "Lakhri is being very tough and masterly. Trust me, you would be proud of him."

"Is he?" Eeth asked, raising his eyebrows. Yesterday's episode had not seemed all that masterly to him. Lakhri happened to agree; he was the first to admit that he still had a lot to learn about being a master.

"No, I'm not," he said, stepping up behind Raven. "But I'm getting there. Don't worry about it."

"I am not worried," said Eeth. "I know you will do fine. Now, I will leave you to your breakfast. I do not want you to be late for class on my account. Try to turn in early tonight; you look definitely more tired than you claim to be. I will try to comm you when I can, but I may be busy tonight. I cannot make any promises. May the Force be with you."

"And with you, master," replied Raven, bowing as the transmission cut out. The girl sighed and turned to face Lakhri. "You ratted yourself out! And it was such a good lie, too," she bantered.

Lakhri grinned. "You think that Eeth would fall for lies of any kind?" he asked. "Think again. I don't believe for a moment that you're capable of lying well enough to deceive Eeth. Besides, he knows me too well. And he knows what happened last night, too. C'mon. Let's have breakfast. You need to go to class."

"Hmm, is that a challenge?" Raven continued with the banter as she sat at their dining room table. Of course, she knew very well that lying to Eeth was virtually impossible, but it was cathartic to make fun of him whilst he wasn't here to grumble at her for it.

"You mean, do I want to see you catch a paddling or worse?" Lakhri retorted, raising his eyebrows as he sat down. "No, I don't."

He held out a basket of bread rolls, inviting Raven to serve herself.

Raven smirked. He was right, but it was still fun to theorise. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask for the day off, to see if Lakhri could be persuaded, yet she refrained. Why? Because if she were too tired for classes after one measly late night, Eeth would never take her on a mission. Besides, it would also make Lakhri look worse if he had to tell Eeth that she stayed home. It was a pity, though, because she doubted there would be many opportunities to get out of classes shy of actually dying from some sort of illness, and even then… Work would probably be brought to her! The girl huffed, but said nothing of her thoughts. Instead, she kept questioning Lakhri who, much to her delight, didn't mind talking about himself.

When breakfast was finished and they had cleaned up, Raven retrieved her things and tossed them on the couch while she pulled on her boots.

"What are you teaching this morning?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Force work for eight-year-old initiates and a mission prep crash course in Outer Rim dialects," Lakhri replied. "I'm kind of nervous about the first one. I've never had students this young before. But Master Yoda is going to do the introductions, so I'm going to look positively tall to them." He grinned at Raven.

"Don't worry, you'll do awesomely. You're great at Force work; they'll be wrapped around your little finger in no time," she assured him, covering a yawn with the back of her hand.

"Alright, I'm good to go," she said, but lingered for a moment. Raven was wondering if, like Eeth, Lakhri would find some overlooked fault in her appearance and send her back to fix it. She doubted it. Lakhri was positively liberal compared to Eeth, but after the way today had started, she rather thought it best to err on the side of caution.

As a matter of fact, Lakhri had been in hot water with Eeth almost constantly over his messy clothes and hair, back when he had been a padawan. Personally, he could not have cared less about folds in a tunic or smudges on a boot, and it would have needed nothing less than a bird's nest in Raven's hair to make him send her back to the refresher.

"Okay, have fun," he said with a smile. "Well, okay. Today, I'll settle for 'don't fall asleep in class'. I'll see you at lunchtime."

Raven laughed at this. Falling asleep was just not going to happen; eesh, only younglings fell asleep during the day, after all. "See you after class," she replied cheerfully and moments later found herself facing yet another day of classes.


	6. Chapter 6

Lakhri had a little time left until his first lesson – time that he urgently needed in order to prepare himself, as he had been too tired last night to do so properly. It had really been a stupid idea to go to Tree World, he thought; they could easily have had as much fun n a place nearer to the Temple and gotten much more sleep i. But there was nothing he could do about it now, so he tried to focus on the tasks at hand, despite his fatigue.

And it went well. The initiates were a pleasant and charming group who seemed to like him and worked hard; and the mission prep class consisted of padawans who all knew for certain that they would need the skills he was going to teach them and who were eager to pick them up. Since Lakhri was by nature an outgoing and likeable person, his students warmed up to him fast. At the same time, he managed to come across as an accomplished knight who had a lot to teach, meaning that he was not confronted with any disrespect, or at least not yet. That was good because he much preferred to deal with such things when he was properly awake.

At one o'clock, he came to meet Raven at the dining hall, still a little tired, but quite cheerful.

By the time Raven arrived, she was well and truly through with classes and teachers. She had been distracted throughout the morning thanks to Eeth's abrupt departure the day before, but thankfully, her teachers had been understanding. Mostly.

"Heya," she greeted Lakhri, grabbing a tray. "Don't suppose you'd consider telling my teachers that I've contracted bird pox or something? It's just that, well, I have way too much homework and it's going to take me ages!" she grumbled, not at all looking forward to the prospect of going home to complete it.

"Aww, come on," Lakhri said good-naturedly. "You're just tired. We can have a look at your homework after lunch, or after we've both taken a nap. I can help." He thought it would probably be a good idea to get homework out of the way before they went to the gym, else they would be home too late AGAIN, and that just wouldn't do.

"I'm not tired. I'm just miffed at having so much homework. I mean, honestly, how do they sleep at night? How!" Raven said dramatically.

Lakhri chuckled. "A Jedi's life is full of hardship," he intoned solemnly. "Better prepare yourself as early as possible. It's all for the best. And yes, it sucks. Especially when you're tired, and don't tell me you aren't. Force, I'm tired!"

This placated Raven; if Lakhri, who was a kick-ass knight, was allowed to admit to being tired, then surely it was okay for her?

"Anyway," continued Lakhri. "You don't need to take a nap if you don't feel like it. You're not a toddler any more. We can get to your homework right away. Best to have it out of the way."

Two hours later, Raven's homework was completed, with Lakhri's patient help, and they headed off for the training rooms.

"How good are you at Force pushes?" Lakhri asked. "And levitation? Do you find it easier to deal with animate or inanimate objects?"

"I'm good at Force pushes and levitation, but how good depends a lot on what I'm targeting. It's easier for me to manipulate and influence animate objects because I have a gift for working with the living Force. It's harder for me to sense stuff that has no life. I _can_ sense it," she was quick to add lest Lakhri think her somehow hamstrung when it came to the Force, "but I have to really focus." Raven screwed up her face. "Eeth has me practice with that wooden boat you built him, and a screwdriver. Both are a pain in my ass."

"Well, okay, then you need more practice," said Lakhri. "On the other hand, a gift for sensing and manipulating the living Force is definitely an asset. I'm sure Eeth will find you a tutor who'll help you develop it at some point."

"Probably. Hey, maybe we could do that instead?" she hedged, a cheeky grin on her face.

"Why do I sense that you want to postpone our practice?" Lakhri asked. "Come on, we need to get started, else there won't be enough time left before dinner. And I thought you might want to have a free evening. So, has Eeth had you work with droids before?"

"A free evening? Lakhri, you're the best!" Raven said, jumping once for emphasis. "If you mean the droids that fire blaster bolts at you, then, yeah. I've worked with them in the creche since I was a youngling. I can't say I'm a fan, especially when they blindfold me; that sucks even more. If you're planning on doing that, I'd keep your distance unless you want to lose your eyebrows."

Lakhri laughed. "I can take care of my eyebrows alright, don't worry. Alright, I'll give you droids to deflect. We'll take it slowly. You just focus on sensing the droids through the Force. I'll start with one and I'll add more at irregular intervals."

He fetched a number of droids from the storage cupboard and slipped a blindfold over Raven's eyes.

"Get ready," he said. "Take your time. Focus on the Force and get a feeling for your surroundings. I won't tell you when I let the droid loose. You'll sense it." Well, either that or she'd get hit, of course!

She lifted the corner of the blindfold, gave him a quasi-put-upon expression, but that was the extent of her protestations. "Alright, let's have at it, then." It was false bravado, of course, as Raven really wasn't great at this. When Lakhri let the droid loose Raven managed to block the first shot, but then she got overconfident and was nailed in the shoulder by the next one. Oh, well, it usually took her a minute or two to find her rhythm anyway.

Lakhri was generally a gentle and patient person who handed out praise readily and was good at encouraging his students to do their best. At the same time, he did have Eeth's training, which meant that he would not allow students to give up easily, let alone fail at something he intended for them to learn. Thus, he drilled Raven relentlessly, letting loose droid after droid after droid and starting again when she reached a point where she failed to sense them. He also frequently linked with her, showing her ways to improve her focus on the inanimate objects in the room. He had promised her extra Force work training last night, and that was what she was going to get!

Like Lakhri, Raven too was accustomed to Eeth's style of training so, despite wanting to quit, she did not. She did, however, think Lakhri was going to be a lot easier-going than Eeth usually was. Thus, after half an hour, and before Lakhri could set loose another set of droids, she lifted the edge of her blindfold once again. "Hey, Lakhri?" she hedged. "Do you think we could do something else for a while now?"

Lakhri raised an eyebrow. He had seen this coming and thought it better to deflect it from the outset. "I doubt that Eeth lets you get away with that when you're working out with him," he said. "Well, I don't either. We can do something else when we're done with this. And we're done when I say we're done. Get ready."

No, Eeth didn't let her get away with it, but then again, Lakhri wasn't Eeth! Apparently, though, neither was he going to be bamboozled into letting her out of things that she didn't particularly want to do. Raven gave him a pouty look, but that was the extent of it, and her saber came up just in time to deflect the next lot of bolts. This sucked, yet even Raven had to admit that the more work she put into this, the more she improved.

Lakhri continued the drill for an hour or so before he finally relented.

"Alright, you definitely made some progress," he said. "We've got around twenty minutes left. We can use them to do anything you like: kata, sparring, playing vossball. Whatever. You choose."

"If after an hour and a half I had not, I'd be worried!" Raven shot back, on a high simply because he'd called the lesson to an end. It wasn't that she hadn't liked working with Lakhri, she had; it was more that Raven really did find that sort of Force work difficult. It was much more satisfying to play vossball, or as Lakhri had suggested: "Let's spar!" Her saber twirled in her hand in a way that wasn't meant to show skill, but demonstrated that she possessed it all the same.

"Right," Lakhri said with a roguish grin, pulling his saber. He was not going to exploit the advantage he had over her, but he was not going to go easy on her either. After all, this could be fun for both of them! Wasting no time, he moved in with a fast attack to her left, withdrawing at the last moment and coming back again to her right. And it was on.

* * *

Over the next week or so, Lakhri proved himself to be quite a good master. He was not as strict or guarded as Eeth, but nor could Raven get away with, or get out of, much. Plus, she made steady improvements on her ability to focus; an achievement that paid off on the Friday morning during their meditation when she managed to get a brief glimpse of Eeth's presence with Lakhri's help. Unfortunately, with this connection came the realisation that Eeth was seriously fatigued. It took an unusually stern reminder from Lakhri of what lay in the cupboard, and the likeliness of at least two of those items making an appearance when Eeth got a hold of her, in order to persuade her out of attempting a rescue. In hindsight, the padawan conceded that it was a stupid idea and apologised. Besides, Eeth did called that very night, and despite finding that he would not be able to head home yet, Raven was relieved to see him in one piece.

Despite these concerns, life continued as usual for Raven. She'am was pleased with her essay. He declared the matter closed, and without losing further time, they were boarding a shuttle and heading off-planet – all eight of them, since this time, Arranxal had taken care to arrive early. It was by far the best class Raven had ever, EVER experienced. The class was unanimous in that assessment by the time they returned to the Temple.

"Well, we've missed an hour of Sunday's free time already. Did you guys want to hit West's for a burger?" Kyle asked, looking to the others. It was already half past five in the afternoon, and there wasn't much left of the day.

"Where is it and what time would we get back?" Raven enquired, only to be cut off by a snort from Arranxal.

"As if Master Koth is going to let you. Don't waste your time, kid, he'll only make you call and cancel. Again."

"For your information, smart ass, Master Koth is away on a mission. His former apprentice, Lakhri, is minding me; he's much easier going and even took me to Tree World on a school night."

"Tree world! That's awesome, Raven!" Kyle said, honestly surprised that the knight had allowed them to travel that far out when there were classes on the next day; his master wouldn't have allowed that, even at his age.

"Okay, then, whatever you say, but I have five credits on you not going anywhere but bed early for shooting your mouth off at him," Cheeto said, grinning knowingly at Arranxal.

"Count me in," Javhei said, tossing a fiver on the pile.

Toman was silent. He had not gotten permission to go into Eldora's either, and he wasn't as confident as the others that he'd get to go, even though it wasn't that far from the Temple.

"I can't believe you creeps are actually throwing your allowance away on this," Raven stated, shaking her head. Well, she would show them!

West's diner was not far. In fact, it was only a thirty-minute shuttle trip and not nearly as seedy as Eldora's. It was just going on for five-thirty when Raven finally made it back to her quarters.

"Lakhri, are you here?" she shouted, unable to hide the excitement from her tone.

Lakhri was not home, however. Right after Raven had left, one of the senior padawans he was currently tutoring in some Outer Rim dialects had called. She and her master had been assigned a critical and urgent mission and they were scheduled to leave tonight. They were expected to work as undercover field operatives in a sector that Lakhri was well-acquainted with. Therefore, the Council had tasked him with giving her a crash course and to teach her as much of the necessary vocabulary as he could. He had left a note for Raven on the table, saying that he would be back for dinner and that she was free to do what she liked until then.

This was the first time Lakhri had not been home before her, and it was particularly late so the padawan immediately went to the table where Eeth usually left a note if one was required. Sure enough, there on the table sat an open datapad with a note typed in large letters.

"Free to do what you like," Raven repeated and grinned. Working quickly, she typed a reply message:

_"Lakhri, I hope your crash course went ok and Maeree's head didn't explode from your cramming efforts. I am with She'am's class, so don't worry if I'm a little late. I can't wait to tell you all about today's class, we went off-planet. –Raven"_

She threw on a clean tunic, washed her face, found some credits and took off to meet the others.

"I don't believe it!" Arranxal stated good-naturedly and handed her the fifteen credits. "Well kid, whatever you did, I'm impressed. My master wouldn't let me out of the Temple by myself at your age," he said dryly.

"Yep, you've earned it," Cheeto agreed, "now let's go. I want to catch the 1730 shuttle."

"Good idea, we'll get a good few hours at the diner. They've got some awesome gaming machines up the back by the pool hall, too," Kyle agreed.

Pool hall! Gaming machines! This was simply too good to be true, thought Raven, and after stuffing her winnings into her utility belt, she donned her cloak and took her place in the centre of their small group. She could spend an hour or so with them and still be back around dinnertime. It would just mean leaving a bit earlier than the others, was all.

When Lakhri came back by dinnertime, as promised, Raven was nowhere around. Instead, he found a note that he was not at all happy with. He seriously doubted that she would have dared tell Eeth "not to worry" if she was a little late. It did not escape his attention that she had not actually given away her whereabouts either. Besides, it was not as if she could not have called him to ask for permission. She might have been under the impression that he wouldn't mind but he did, in fact, mind. Eeth had left him in charge and he took that seriously. Whatever it was that she was doing right now, he might or might not have given permission if she had just ASKED. But she had not, and he was definitely not pleased with that. He just hoped it would turn out she had spent her time at the padawan lounge, sparing him the necessity to impose serious consequences. Somehow, he was not very confident that he would be so lucky, though.

Raven was having the absolute time of her life and seriously did not want to leave, but then again, neither did she particularly want to enter a discussion with Lakhri over why she was home too late to be explainable.

"Hey, I'm gonna catch the next shuttle back," she told them, and surprisingly, did not receive a single titter, snort or jeer at her statement.

"Alright, but we're staying on," Leyasu said. "Kyle will you take her to the stop?"

"Hey, why me?"

"We'll all flip for it," Javhei suggested, earning herself a frown from Raven who did not like being a task.

"Whatever, I don't need a babysitter to catch a shuttle," she said and with that turned on her heel and stubbornly walked towards the door. She did not make it far when Leyasu was at her side.

"Yeah, I don't think so, kid. This is still Coruscant and you'll stay with one of us at all times," he stated.

"Oh, yes, master, whatever you say," Raven made an elaborate bowing gesture, rolled her eyes and deftly avoided a cuff to her head. Five minutes later, she entered the shuttle.

"See you next week, kid," Leyasu said, and once the shuttle had taken off, he made his way back to the diner.

It was exactly seven forty-five when Raven arrived back at her quarters, looking a little flushed from rushing and reeking of spice smoke, smog and a cocktail of other odours that she had become used to and did not notice on herself.

"Hi Lakhri, how was your session? Did she learn what she had to?" Raven asked, tossing her cloak over the rack by their door.

Lakhri had just about decided to call Raven and order her home when, to his relief, she came darting through the door, alive and well. His relief, however, was short-lived when he noticed the smell that accompanied her; a smell she definitely would not have acquired in the Temple unless there was a highly illegal sort of party going on somewhere.

"Raven, where in the Force's name have you been?" he asked, rising from the couch and planting his hands on his hips.

His stance did not go unnoticed. Raven approached cautiously; Lakhri might be roughly the same height as her, yet he still managed to look imposing. "I told you, I was with She'ams class," she tried, pointing to her note that was still open on the table.

"I'm sorry I'm late, but Lakhri, it's only just past dinnertime, are you really going to drag me over the coals for that?"

"Dinnertime was at seven, and it's now a quarter to eight," Lakhri pointed out sternly, his suspicions raised even higher by Raven's evasive answer. "But that was not my question. I didn't ask you who you were with, I asked where you were. Because unless the Temple kitchen's spice stores have somehow gone up in smoke, you will hardly have acquired that smell in the padawan lounge."

Smell? Force, did she stink? Raven gave her uniform a cursory sniff, but could not detect anything out of the ordinary. Well, apparently there was or how else would he know to mention it? By now, Raven had both arms wrapped about her middle in a way that she often did when Eeth was interrogating her over something that she didn't exactly want to confess.

"I went to West's Diner with my class." Because what else could she say? Lying would only be found out as it was practically impossible for a junior padawan, especially one who looked as young as Raven, to leave the Temple unnoticed.

'Alright. So much for my hopes to get through my time with Raven without having to mete out some discipline,' Lakhri thought. Not voicing this thought, for now, he gave a terse nod with his chin towards one of the armchairs while sitting back down on the couch.

"So, can you think of any reason why this might not have been a good idea?" he asked, a hint of sarcasm lacing his voice.

Without taking her eyes off the man, Raven moved to where he gestured and sat. She thought about his question. Why wasn't it a good idea? Raven thought it was the best idea she had ever had. She had truly had one of the best nights of her short life!

"I. Umm. Well, Coruscant is dangerous, and…" She fidgeted with the arm of her chair. "Maybe I should have asked you before I went," she offered, knowing that he wanted to hear something negative about her decision to go out, but also not wanting to go overboard with the incriminating flaws in her afternoons plans here. The truth was that Raven had not asked because she had known it was unlikely he would say yes! And his note had said she could do what she liked until dinner, although she wasn't sure if stating the latter would be wise. Besides, past experience had taught the padawan that stating these things too early on in the piece never ended well, and sometimes it was best to keep them to herself altogether. Raven would wait this out and decide.

"Coruscant is dangerous," Lakhri said, his voice now positively heavy with sarcasm. "What a brilliant observation. Yes, Coruscant is dangerous, and that is only one of many reasons for which you should have asked me before you went. Not maybe but definitely. Why didn't you?"

Okay, so apparently this was serious and waiting it out was not necessary to figure that out. Raven sat a little taller in her chair, trying not to fidget. Force, she faced off against Eeth all the time, so this should be nothing… So why was she finding it so damned hard to hold his gaze? This was Lakhri, not Eeth!

"I left a note so you knew that I was with my class, and," her chin came out in a way that generally signified she was becoming indignant. "You did say I was free to do what I liked. Look, I'm really sorry I was late, I was just having so much fun. Didn't you ever just want to be free enough to have a bit of fun as a padawan? Just for a night?" Raven tried, hoping to incite a little sibling compassion here and perhaps deflect from the main issue Lakhri had, which was the fact that she had gone to West's without his knowledge.

Lakhri pursed his lips. He was not at all impressed with Raven's attempts to talk her way out of this and it showed in the look on his face.

"I did, but I rarely went through with it," he said grimly, "because I knew quite clearly what the consequences would be and I didn't care for them. Just imagine for a moment that I was Eeth. I left a note asking you to be back by dinner time, as he frequently does. Not only do you return forty-five minutes late; it also turns out you have been out in the city, even though you have tried your best to conceal that fact in the note you left and when asked about it. What is worse, you have made no attempt to ask for my permission. And when confronted with all this, you go all indignant. What, do you think, would Eeth's reaction be like?"

What would Eeth's reaction be like? Diabolical! That was what… Not that Raven wanted to admit to as much. Instead, she winced, which was all-telling, and tried to look like this wasn't making her as nervous as she felt. "He'd be annoyed," she admitted, because anything less would be too outrageous to try passing off as remotely truthful. Her gaze dropped to her foot which was now swinging nervously.

"That," Lakhri said neutrally, his scrutinizing gaze never leaving her face, "is the understatement of the century. We both know that Eeth would have made you go to that infamous cupboard of his and get out the cane, and you would have been exceedingly lucky if that had been your only punishment. So, knowing that this is how Eeth would have reacted, would you still have gone along with it if he had been the one in charge? Or did you do it precisely because it wasn't him who was in charge, but me? Like I wouldn't mind, or even if I did, I wouldn't do anything about it anyway?"

Truth be told, Lakhri felt taken advantage of, and that was a rather uncomfortable feeling, although probably not as uncomfortable as Raven was going to feel in a short while.

Raven's mouth was suddenly dry, and her stomach froze at his take on Eeth's reaction. Would Eeth cane her for this? Yeah, probably. Would Lakhri? Fuck! Her gaze shot up to meet his, eyes wide; that had not occurred to her before this moment. Force, she couldn't even say she had not meant it, because she kind of haḍ

"I wouldn't have gone if Eeth had been here," she admitted, visibly cringing at how that sounded. "And, at the time I figured that you might not mind so much and if you did … Lakhri I'm sorry, but …" Raven couldn't hold his gaze and actually admit to this. "I figured that, even if you did mind, that you would let me off because you'd remember what it's like to be Eeth's apprentice." Raven couldn't hide the fact that she was now feeling quite guilty over having taken advantage of him.

Lakhri knew that he was more easy-going than Eeth; he had just not been aware that it had infringed upon his authority so much. He sighed. "Yeah, I thought as much," he said. "Unfortunately for you, there are some lines I cannot allow you to cross if I don't want to make a joke out of all this. I mean, Eeth trusted me to take care of you, and even though I'm not the type to jump on you for a fold in your tunic, I am taking this responsibility seriously. I simply cannot let you get away with ignoring rules or endangering your safety. If something had happened to you out in the city, I would have had a hard time tracking you down, and that is only the start of a considerable number of reasons for which you're in trouble."

Raven gave him a piteous look, but thought it wise not to comment for the moment.

While Lakhri was trying to figure out what exactly to do about the situation – although the general direction was pretty clear – another thought occurred to him.

"Were you with the rest of your class at all times, at least?" he asked. "Did they take you home?"

"I stayed with them while we were at West's, they wouldn't let me out of their sight. When I said I needed to go early, Leyasu saw me to the shuttle, but they all stayed on later, so I rode it home by myself," Raven confessed, and had to admit that it sounded pretty bad in hindsight. "I do know how to ride a shuttle, though," she felt compelled to remind him.

"That is hardly the point," Lakhri snapped. He rarely snapped, but he was beginning to be seriously annoyed with her attitude. "The point is, you left the Temple without permission, having neglected to ask for said permission on purpose. Then you returned home by yourself, which is even worse, and arrived forty-five minutes late. I can't let any of this slide, and I don't intend to." The question remained how, exactly, he was going to pull this off. He was not exactly Eeth who had probably been an authority figure by the time he had been out of diapers! But then, Lakhri was not entirely without teaching experience either, and he knew he could assert his authority when necessary. It was just unfortunate that tonight was that time.

At this point, Raven's face was flushed pink with embarrassment, and she didn't know where to look; this was not at all how she had envisaged this evening was going to go down! Of course, had this been Eeth, Raven wouldn't have expected to get out of it, and now she was starting to think that perhaps assuming Lakhri would be different, might not have been the smartest move; he had once been Eeth's apprentice himself, after all.

"Lakhri, c'mon. I get that you have every reason to be displeased with me and all, but Eeth will kill me when he finds out. Could you take that into consideration, please?" She wasn't trying to get out of punishment, per se, but perhaps she was trying to soften him and, in turn, lessen the severity.

Lakhri couldn't believe her. It was not that he had never tried such stunts as a padawan; but he had never expected to be able to talk his way out of the punishment his master had in store for him, once he had been found out.

"No, Eeth will certainly not kill you," he said, and he was sounding more than a little annoyed now. "But that's only because he won't need to punish you himself. I will already have seen to that."

That was not what Raven wanted to hear! Yet, had this been Eeth, she would have entirely expected a lot worse. Well, she couldn't exactly blame Lakhri, and so she kept her head down and remained silent.

While Lakhri had been speaking, he was furiously thinking about how he was going to pull this off. He had almost immediately ruled out Eeth's cupboard. It somehow didn't feel right to make use of his master's implements, as if he was trying to impersonate the man when he was really a very different type of person. That said, a hand spanking was not a good option either. Raven would hardly fit across his lap, and his hands would not leave much of an impression, considering how short his arms were. He would need to find some type of implement that was less Eeth-like, he mused.

"Go to your room and think about why you're going to be punished," he ordered, deciding to buy himself some time. "I'll be with you in a short while."

Wordlessly, Raven sprang to her feet and ran for her bedroom at lightning speed; this was not how tonight had been meant to go down, not even remotely! Throwing herself onto her bed, Raven did her best to push her anxiety and personal horror over the turn of events aside, to do as he had said.

Lakhri intended to give Raven a good reason not to pull such a stunt again, although he was sure it would pale in comparison to what Eeth would have done in a similar situation. Feeling slightly queasy with apprehension but squashing down that feeling, he went to the kitchen and rummaged around in the drawer, producing a lightweight but sturdy duroplast spatula that looked as if it would do. Eyeing it dubiously, he decided to test it before he used it on someone else; after all, he had no experience with this whatsoever. He smacked the spatula deftly onto his thigh and had to suppress a yelp. It stung plenty, even over his pants, which meant that he could spare Raven the embarrassment of baring her bottom. Heaving a sigh and steeling his resolve, he made his way to Raven's room and knocked on the door.

Raven's heart skipped a beat. She didn't want him to enter, but doubted he'd go away if she simply refused to answer.

"Yes?" she replied into her pillow, kicking herself for that stupid response. YES? Yes! Ugh. But what else could she say?

Lakhri entered, the spatula in hand. He really did not feel like doing this but he hardly thought that saying "I'm sorry I have to whack you with this spatula" would be the brightest idea. Instead, he said as calmly and confidently as he possibly could: "Get up and tell me what you're receiving this punishment for." He just hoped that she would manage to stop being evasive because if she didn't, he was going to add even more to what he planned on giving her.

Raven was accustomed to this sort of no-nonsense approach, but she had not expected it from Lakhri. Thus, she hesitated, but only for a moment, before sitting up and swinging her legs over the bed. Both brows rose, and her mouth opened a little in shock upon spotting the spatula. Okay, so apparently this was not going to be any token punishment. Still, the guilt she felt for taking advantage of him when he had tried so hard to give her a break was playing on her conscience. Resigned to her fate, Raven stood and forced herself to meet his gaze.

"For putting my safety at risk by leaving the Temple, not asking for permission to do so, and," she squirmed a bit, "for taking advantage of you. I'm sorry, Lakhri."

"Apology accepted," Lakhri said quietly, and part of him really wanted to let her off and tell her to just forget it and never mention to Eeth that he had not punished her. But he knew that was out of the question. If he let Raven off now, he could kiss any semblance of authority he might hold goodbye. Besides, he could sense the guilt emanating from Raven, and in his experience, a punishment was a good way to resolve this. For that reason, there had even been rare occasions when he had owned up to Eeth for some mischief his master had, surprisingly, failed to detect, although in hindsight Lakhri was fairly sure that his master had had at least an inkling that he had done something wrong.

"Now for the matter of consequences," Lakhri continued, still quietly, but firmly. "I'm too small to take you across my lap so we will do this a different way."

Raven cringed, wanting the ground to open up and swallow her, but she remained silent and waited for him to tell her what to do.

Lakhri sat down on Raven's bed and scooted back until he was leaning against the headboard. His short legs were stretched out before him. "Pull up your tunic and lie down across my thighs," he instructed. "You may leave your pants on." The thin pants Raven wore would offer little protection against the spatula.

Alright, so Raven might deserve this, but that didn't mean she had to like it, and Raven did not like it! She whined at receiving his instructions, but was still fast to comply because to do otherwise would only land her deeper in the shit, she knew. Reluctantly, she climbed up on her bed, hiked up her tunic and put herself across his lap. This was just horrifying.

Lakhri, of course, happened to think that this was precisely the point. Besides, it wouldn't be long until Raven would be preoccupied with far more horrifying things. The spatula was bound to impart an impressive sting but, due to its lightness, it would leave no lasting traces. Which was good because Lakhri had no gift for healing whatsoever.

He decided on getting this over with as fast as possible. Raising the spatula high, he brought it down smartly onto Raven's bottom, starting to spank at a rapid pace without preliminaries. From personal experience at the receiving end of such spankings, he knew that this was quite hard to bear because it left the recipient of the spanking with no time to adjust.

Okay, so any gratitude the girl felt for his lack of preliminaries was fast overshadowed by the fierce sting that was building up on her backside. Raven had secretly held hopes that he would be lenient or too inexperienced to really whale on her, but she had been wrong, very wrong. "Ouch! Sheez! Lakhri! Really?!" Raven complained, her eyes squeezing shut a little tighter with each swat. It stung like mad!

"Yes, really," Lakhri said stoically. He knew what he was doing because his master had been an expert at this, and it showed. Lakhri might not be enthusiastic about dealing out punishment, nor was it a routine activity to him as it probably was to Eeth, but he was still determined to do this properly. Raven had been way out of line, and he needed to convince her quite thoroughly that it was never a good idea to blatantly disregard safety rules, no matter who was in charge of her at the time. Thus, he focussed on making this a memorable spanking. It was not likely to be on a par with what Eeth dealt out for serious rule-breaking but it was still going to leave a strong impression. He spanked the same spot repeatedly, knowing from experience that this was agony, then moved on to another spot in a random pattern, not sparing Raven's thighs which he knew – again from ample experience – were especially sensitive.

Raven kicked a foot, buried her head in her hands and gripped fistfuls of sheets, but once Lakhri started targeting the same spot, the padawan couldn't help it and started whining in earnest.

"Ouch! please, OW! Waaait, I'm sorry, I'm sorryyy!" she wailed, twisting her hips slightly and rising up on her forearms in an effort to move the targeted area from the line of fire. Raven wasn't trying to be defiant here but it was fast getting to the point where maintaining self-control was going to become dicy.

Unfortunately for Raven, Lakhri had no intention to let her keep any semblance of self-control. He simply continued the spanking, possibly even a little harder and faster than before because he would prefer it if this did not take all night!

This change of pace was rewarded with an increased rate of whining, wriggling and eventually, when none of this was bringing an end to the horror, crying. Raven threw her hands back out of self-preservation, only to have them grabbed by Lakhri and pinned to her back. Apparently, having been on the receiving end of countless spankings himself, Lakhri knew how to prevent a padawan from throwing back her hands in order to protect herself, and he didn't miss a beat. Raven did not appreciate this, but with nothing left to do, she went limp and started crying in earnest. It was unbearable!

At this point, Lakhri stopped the paddling for a moment, but only to say: "That was for leaving the Temple without permission. Had you been upfront with me when I asked you about it, it would have been over now. I don't appreciate your attempt to deceive me over what happened, however. And that's why you're getting an extra dozen swats."

This news went over like a lead balloon! The problem was that Raven was crying too much by this point to get out anything more than unintelligible howling and mumblings in way of protest.

Steeling himself against her sobs, Lakhri raised the spatula again and brought it down sharply another dozen times, distributing the spanks evenly across Raven's bottom. Then he dropped the implement with a sigh of relief and released her hands.

"All over now," he said softly, patting her back gently.

Okay, so by the time Lakhri was through with her, Raven was wailing like a five-year-old and silently vowing to never, _EVER_ do anything even remotely bad around the knight ever again. Of course, this was the same mantra that she howled to herself after every punishment, but that didn't mean she was any less earnest in her dedication to achieve godly behaviour! The instant he released her hands, one flew directly to her backside and the other to swipe at her nose. At this point Raven didn't even care that she was still lying over his lap; all she wanted was to stop crying, because she was a padawan now and padawans didn't carry on like five-year-olds … Even if it had hurt a ridiculous amount!

Lakhri continued patting her back quietly while his left hand fumbled for a handkerchief in his tunic pocket. After a while, he managed to get it out and unfold it, and he pressed it into Raven's hand.

"It's over now," he repeated quietly, trying hard not to feel guilty. Although he realistically knew that Eeth would have dealt out no less, he was still a little worried that he might have overdone it. It was hardly a good idea to voice these thoughts, though, so he settled for saying: "I could find some bacta for you if you'd like."

Raven heard him. She just wished that someone would report the fact that it was over with to her ass, which was still blazing. Granted, the sting was fading quickly now that nobody was fueling the fire, which was why her howls soon morphed into sobs, and then sniffling. She blew her nose on the handkerchief and risked a look over her shoulder.

"Can I get up now, please?" she asked, managing to get the entire sentence out without sniffling. She did want that bacta, but felt accepting that offer was more dignified if she were standing.

"Of course you may," Lakhri said gently. When she had stood up, he clambered off the bed himself and offered her a hug. He felt a bit awkward about it because he was unsure whether Raven actually wanted this, under the circumstances, or whether she prefered to be left alone. His only consolation was that Eeth's behaviour in such situations was sure to be even more awkward!

To his relief, unlike her master, Raven had no trouble expressing her feelings and gratefully accepted his hug. Lakhri still thought it better to make sure that she knew he held no grudge.

"I consider the matter closed," he said kindly. "Just spare both of us a repeat performance, okay?"

His comment on a repeat performance earned him an incredulous look, which was closely followed by a more complete answer.

"I will. Promise. That was horrible," Raven complained and knelt to keep the weight off her backside. She actually did want the bacta, but was embarrassed to admit she needed it, and instead settled for a wince as she adjusted her tunic.

"I'm afraid I'm not much of a healer," Lakhri said apologetically. "I can really get you some bacta, though. It helps with all kinds of bruises, and it works on a sore bottom as well."

"Thanks, I won't say no. Besides, you broke my ass," Raven replied. It wasn't quite a joke, not yet, but it did signify that she was getting her sense of humour back, albeit slowly.

"No, 'break your ass is what Eeth would have done," Lakhri said with a grin. "Then again, he would have healed it after a while with his usual flawless perfection." He winked at her, relieved that she seemed to be feeling a little better in spirits and wasn't going to hold a grudge. Not that she had any real reason to hold a grudge, he reminded himself; he doubted that there were many knights or masters in the Temple who would have given her anything less than the spanking he had dealt out. Still, it had been a first for him, and it had not been something he had particularly enjoyed.

"I hope he doesn't decide to anyway. Not for what I did, but because he told me to behave for you, and, well," Raven scrunched up her face. "I kinda didn't. He's prickly about the whole obedience thing, you know?"

Lakhri considered this. "To be honest, I can't see him punishing you a second time," he said. "Not when I tell him I have already done so. When I was punished by teachers for misbehaviour in class, Eeth never punished me again unless a teacher specifically asked him to or he felt I had violated a personal duty towards him. I always found him to be quite fair that way. True, he told you to behave for me, but he also told me to take care of it if you misbehaved. I think you'll be fine unless you totally go over the top and start breaking the rules every other day."

"Unlikely. You know what he's like: if I started breaking the rules every other day, he'd have a heart attack. Or I'd never sit down again. Both are likely." Raven managed a slight smile now, despite the fact that her ass had not forgiven Lakhri yet. Well, he was about to provide some bacta, so that part was about to fix itself.

"Totally," Lakhri conceded with a chuckle. "So you'd better try to save him the trouble. Now let me get the bacta. And then it's time for evening meditation."

Raven still had not managed to contact Eeth for more than a fraction of a second. Lakhri thought she was close to getting there, if only she could keep her focus a little longer! But then, he thought, there was no hurry. They had plenty of time.

He would soon find out how very wrong he was …


	7. Chapter 7

"Why do I bother hating Mondays? It's not like they mean the start of classes after a relaxing weekend off or anything," Raven grumbled around a mouthful of toast. She was not being petulant per se, but she was feeling the pinch after a rather stressful couple of days. Eeth had been sent to Antar on an urgent mission to attempt salvaging the peace treaty that he had helped to negotiate, and Raven had been left with Lakhri, Eeth's former padawan who had returned to the Temple recently. All of that, in conjunction with a restless night's sleep due to Lakhri having whaled on her for going out with She'am's class without permission, meant her patience wasn't what it typically was.

"Will you let me stay home today, pleeease?" she begged, trying to make herself look as pitiful as possible. Raven knew that there was not a chance in hell that Eeth would allow such a thing. Thus, this was really her only opportunity of ever getting a day off classes. Besides, being Eeth's former apprentice himself, Lakhri would have to empathise, right? Right!

"Nope, sorry," Lakhri said, flashing her a grin. "Cycle's nearly over, though. What about I promise you a whole day in Tree World once it's finished? If I tell Eeth I promised you, he can't do a thing about it."

Okay, so this had Raven's complete and undivided attention. "A whole day! For real? You would really do that?" Raven asked, but his grin answered for him.

"Lakhri, you are seriously the best!" she told him, forgetting her breakfast and almost knocking the man off his chair with her hug. Lakhri had taken her to Tree World the evening Eeth left for Antar in an effort to cheer her up, and the padawan had been driving her friends crazy with stories about it ever since. To go again, and not be under time pressure thanks to her ridiculous curfew! Now that just sounded too good to be true.

"Yeah, 'course I am," Lakhri said cheerfully, returning the hug. "Be sure to tell that to Eeth, in case he didn't know yet. But now it's time for both of us to go. I have my initiates to teach and you need to improve on your maths skills quite urgently." He poked her playfully in the side and got up to gather the dishes.

"Aww, don't be like that. Maths and improve in the same sentence is just hitting below the belt." It was true, too, Raven hated maths and would do just about anything to get out of it. She helped to clear the table, then began stacking their plates into the sterilizer; neither of them had time to wash by hand this morning.

As anticipated, lack of sleep eventually clashed with her temper, which clashed with her teachers, who saddled her with extra homework and, eventually, detention. Okay, so getting detention wasn't the end of the universe. Eeth typically let the fact that she had lost a chunk of her free time serve as punishment enough. Today, however, Raven's teacher thought it best to assign meditation given her student's current mood, which further irritated Raven as she wasn't even able to get a start on some of the extra work assigned to her. The problem with being assigned meditation was that it became quite difficult to hold on to a foul mood when you're instructed to release negative emotions into the Force. Thus, when the old bat finally let her go, Raven was feeling less like she wanted to claw the woman's eyeballs out and pee down the holes, and more contrite.

Lakhri was already impatiently waiting for her. He had come home from his lessons rather late since he had to have a stern talk with two trouble-makers after class. He expected Raven to be home by the time he arrived, but she wasn't; instead, he found two comm messages, one of them informing him of Raven's detention and one of them asking him to immediately contact the Council secretary. The talk with the Council secretary left him pale and nearly panicked; he had to draw on the Force in order to calm himself a little. He needed Raven, right now. Thus, he called her maths teacher who told him that she had just finished her detention and was on her way home, which left Lakhri pacing the common room nervously until the door finally slid open.

"Raven," he said in a tense voice, stopping his pacing. "Sit down. I need to tell you something, and I need your help. The Council needs your help, for that matter."

Raven's first thought upon spotting the pacing knight was he looked worried. She immediately ruled herself out as the cause, as teachers always contacted the master of any student kept back for detention, so this left one thing: Eeth. The look on Lakhri's face was grave, and his tone did nothing to ease her already frayed nerves.

"Lakhri, please tell me nothing has happened to my master," she said, her words barely a whisper.

Lakhri ran his hand over his face. "The thing is, we don't know," he said tersely. He plopped down onto the couch and beckoned for Raven to sit beside him.

Drawing a deep breath, he said: "Alright, this is what we know. The negotiations have been going downhill for a few days. Eeth has sent regular reports to the Council according to which he's been trying to keep things together with mixed success. Antar I und II seemed to rely on his mediation, Antar IV was kind of neutral, and Antar III was increasingly hostile. This night, the Council received a very brief message from him stating that there had been an assassination attempt on the chief delegate of Antar I by an assassin from Antar III. When Eeth thwarted the assassination attempt and confronted Antar III with it, their delegation withdrew from the negotiations and revoked the truce. The negotiations were terminated and chaos broke out on the space station where they had taken place because Antar III threatened to attack. Eeth immediately got busy evacuating the space station. His backup team tried to pick him up, but he kept them on hold because he wanted to complete the evacuation first. Then a squadron of Antar III battleships came in and fired on them; their ship was severely damaged and could only just make it to Antar II. The space station was seized by Antar III forces. Most of the people on the station seem to have made it to safety before that happened, but Eeth does not appear to have been on any of the ships that escaped, although we cannot be entirely sure of that because they landed on different planets and moons and it's all very chaotic. In any case, we haven't been able to contact him since the attack on the station, which leaves a number of possibilities."

Lakhri heaved another deep breath. "Either he escaped but is wounded or stripped of his communication devices somehow," he said, visibly fighting for his composure. "Or he has been captured. Or he is still on the space station, hiding from the attackers. Or… or he's…" He did not finish that sentence.

After a moment's pause, he raised his head to look Raven in the eye and said: "We have to find out whether he's still alive. And the only way to do so seems to be through your bond with him. Will you meditate with me and try to find him?"

Surely, surely she'd heard him wrong, because he couldn't possibly mean to tell her that Eeth was missing and perhaps…

"No, he-he couldn't be," she thought aloud, because to her, nothing could kill her master; he was just too good a Jedi for that. Another glance at Lakhri confirmed her thoughts, though, and as if that weren't shocking enough for the girl, what he said next crushed what little remained of her composure. Her eyes darkened, back straightened and she shot to her feet as the adrenaline kicked in. She began pacing the floor, her arms crossed about her chest as if the action would somehow contain her racing heart from pounding clean out of it.

"Lakhri, you don't mean to tell me that the only way we have of finding my master is dependent on my capacity to use a skill that I barely have!?" she said, only just stopping herself from flying into an outright panic. Tears welled in her eyes. She wanted Eeth! She needed his lack of patience for losing one's composure under pressure. Heck, Raven was training to be a Jedi and coping under extreme pressures was part of the job description.

"If you've got a better idea, I will be glad to hear it," Lakhri said wearily and without particular sarcasm. "Eeth does not respond to comm calls, and we can't even track his comm unit through our sensors. He might have switched it off to avoid detection, or it might have been destroyed. The Council and the backup team that was stranded on Antar II are trying hard to get some useful information out of the people aboard the incoming ships from the space station, but so far, all that everybody agrees upon is that Eeth was organising the evacuation and that he was alive and well when they left. Nobody recalls him boarding a ship. It still cannot be excluded that he did, but it is becoming increasingly unlikely. However, it is very well possible that he is hiding on the station. A Jedi who does not want to be found is not easy to find, especially if they deactivate their electronic devices."

He ran his hand over his face again. "Raven, we need you," he said quietly. "Eeth needs you. This is important. The Council have sent a rescue team to retrieve the Jedi from Antar II and possibly find out more about Eeth's whereabouts, but without further information, they will not do more than that. They have no Jedi to spare with the Vargate crisis going on. If we can find out he's still alive, they will send more teams; I'm sure of it, they practically told me so. We need to do this, as fast as possible."

Raven knew that this was important! What she didn't like was that Eeth's fate was resting on her ability (if one could call it that) to still her mind and really focus. Her stomach went cold, and she hugged herself tighter; Eeth would expect more from her than this! She stopped pacing and her arms dropped to her sides as she met her Jedi brother with a heartbroken, albeit resolute expression.

"I will do it. But, Lakhri, I don't know how! Please, you gotta help me do this," she begged as she fought to squash down her fear at the prospect of failing. Failure was not something Raven accepted easily, even when she felt the task was beyond her. And this felt WAY beyond anything she could imagine right now.

"Calm down," Lakhri said quietly. "Come on, you can do this. Don't panic. Take a deep breath. Sit next to me, or sit on my lap if you like to. I will help you focus on your bond with Eeth. You need not do anything more than what you did the last two times this worked. Getting a tiny glimpse of his Force presence will be sufficient. We won't be able to communicate with him at this distance any time soon, but it will make all the difference to know that he's alive."

The padawan nodded. She blew out a few short, sharp breaths and connected her fingers at the tips in a gesture that often served as a physical representation of the internal readiness she was attempting to achieve.

"I'm calm." But she sounded unconvinced…

Ordinarily, Raven would have scoffed at the idea of meditating in such a juvenile manner as Lakhri had suggested. Right now, however, she was willing to do whatever it took to find Eeth; she would meditate for a year cradled in Lakhri's arms if that's what it took to find Eeth. Thus, Raven slunk onto the couch, and then she put herself in Lakhri's lap. Sure, they were the same height, but Lakhri was easily triple her weight and muscle mass; her small weight would be no bother to him, or so she hoped.

Lakhri readily wrapped his arms around Raven and helped her enter a meditative trance. It was hard getting her to focus properly; she was worried and that prevented her from stilling her mind sufficiently to get a good sense of her bond with Eeth. Lakhri was patient and persistent, motivating – and occasionally rebuking – her again and again. He was not going to give up because if Raven was unable to find Eeth through their bond – well, Lakhri was not ready to acknowledge what that might mean.

Neither was Raven ready for that! Thus, with each failure the padawan forced herself to work harder; Eeth couldn't be gone, he just couldn't!

After many hours of hard work, Raven's eyes shot open and she practically pulled them both off the couch getting to her feet. She had sensed Eeth! She had! It wasn't strong but it was enough to know that he was still alive. "I FEEL HIM," she shouted triumphantly "He was looking for our bond, looking for me!" she said, her relief so overwhelming that she almost felt sick.

"I know. I know. I sensed him, too. He's alive," Lakhri said, giddy with relief. He hugged Raven hard and then jumped up.

"I have to notify the Council, now. They have to send out rescue teams. They have to get him out of there alive!"

For all his relief, Lakhri was well aware that his former master was caught up in a war-fraught stellar system and was still in tremendous danger. If, for example, one of the warring factions decided to blow up the space station in order to diminish the forces of Antar III, Eeth's lightsaber would be of no use to him at all – provided he still was at the space station, which they could not be sure of. Unfortunately, even the best of Jedi would not have been able to sense Eeth's exact location from this distance.

Lakhri called the Council secretary who asked him to appear in front of the Council immediately, together with Raven.

"C'mon," Lakhri said, switching off the comm unit and practically running to retrieve his boots. "Let's get going." Conveniently, Raven still had her boots on, so it took them less than half a minute to dash out the door and towards the turbolift.

The Council listened to Lakhri's brief report gravely. Yoda asked Raven to link with him so he could confirm that what she had sensed was really Eeth's Force presence. After a brief moment, he nodded.

"Alive he is," he said, hobbling back to his seat and looking at the other Council members, "and his Force presence unimpaired. Rescue him, we must."

"Right," Mace Windu said, getting down to business, as usual. "Master Hedrick and Knight Xinthia are already on their way. They will retrieve Master Koth's backup team, Shahar and Yaron. Two more teams, in addition to those four Jedi, should do it. One of the teams will start negotiating with Antar III in order to distract them and find out whether they know of Eeth Koth's whereabouts, while another team will try to make their way into the space station in disguise. The remaining Jedi – Hedrick, Xinthia, Shahar and Yaron – will gather information on the planets and moons of the Antar system, in case Eeth is not on the space station. They will also act as a backup team."

"I propose to send Master Shackath and his Padawan Lin for the negotiations," said Adi Gallia. "Master Shackath is the best negotiator we've got available, and his padawan has got sufficient mission experience." The other Council members nodded.

"I will be the one to enter the space station," Saesee Tiin spoke up; he was a Council member who had often worked together with Eeth and was as close to the Zabrak as a person could get, with the exception of his padawans. "I will not arouse suspicion, as there are quite a number of Iktotchi mercenaries among the forces of Antar III. My telepathic abilities will go a long way to finding Master Eeth, whose whereabouts we do not know yet. I will find a junior knight to accompany me."

Ravens gaze shifted between the knight in front of her and the empty seat where her master should be sitting. She was physically and mentally strung out by this stage and struggling to keep her emotions in check as she listened to the Council. She could tell Lakhri was still worried about Eeth, not that she could blame him. Her interest piqued at hearing of Master Shackath and Lin. Raven knew Lin from Master She'am's class, after all and she wasn't that much better than Raven was! It was at that moment that a thought occurred to her. Stepping forward to stand next to Lakhri, Raven forced herself to stand tall. She was no longer an initiate but an apprentice and she could do this.

"Masters?" she interrupted, not quite sure how else to get their attention. Once they had all turned to acknowledge her, she swallowed. "I have a training bond with my master and will be able to sense his location once on Antar. I should go and help direct master Tiin's abilities," she stated, her voice coming out a lot calmer than she actually felt.

Lakhri sighed but did not comment. He could understand Raven all too well; he probably would have done the same thing at her age. However, he considered it exceedingly unlikely for the Council to grant her request. And he was right. After a short discussion, the Council members explained to Raven that they were not going to send a twelve-year-old padawan into a war zone, no matter how helpful her presence might be. And helpful it would be, they all agreed on that point and, in fact, made it clear that they valued her suggestion. Still, they ruled it out as being far too dangerous.

"And besides," Saesee Tiin argued, giving Raven a compassionate look, "it will be next to impossible to sell her off as an Antar III mercenary. No one will fall for that. Besides, we will need to rely quite heavily on Force suggestions and Force compulsions. I will need an experienced knight for that, preferably one that will give a credible impression of being a mercenary."

"Wait, you don't need to sell me off as a mercenary." Raven's back straightened even more if such a thing were possible, and she took another step forward, demanding their complete attention. She was Eeth's apprentice and not easily intimidated, after all. "I could stay on the ship. That way I wouldn't be putting Master Tiin's mission in danger due to my lack of prowess, and they'd still benefit from my connection with Eeth." Raven stopped short of informing them that there was nothing wrong with that plan, if only because it was not considered wise to argue with the Council as it was, let alone being a smart ass to boot.

The Council members looked at each other. Then Mace Windu shook his head.

"Too dangerous," he said. "Any ship that ventures into the Antar system right now is at risk. If the ship is captured, you will be taken hostage and will hardly be able to prevent it. And then we will have one more problem on our hands. No, padawan. I am sorry, but this is not open for debate."

Raven made to say something in response but Lakhri beat her to it. He clamped his hand around her shoulder.

"That's enough, Raven," he whispered. He knew that the Council were right, much as Raven might be unwilling to concede it. Further arguments would have no benefit. They would only waste time, and time was of the essence now.

Raven stepped back. She was far from placated, yet entirely unwilling to go against the Council AND Lakhri. That would simply be suicidal.

After some discussion, the Council agreed to appoint Knight Ulsang as Saesee Tiin's assistant, an experienced human male who was tall, well-built and experienced at dealing with non-Jedi weapons, qualifying him as an undercover operative for the job.

"The rescue teams will leave some time during the night, as soon as they have been briefed, packed and their ships have been prepared," Mace Windu told Raven and Lakhri. "We will have to disguise one ship as an Antar III vessel, which will take several hours. Rest assured that we will do our utmost to retrieve your master. He is, after all, an accomplished Jedi and will not be easily defeated. We will keep you updated on any new developments that might occur."

The Council members bowed collectively and said: "May the Force be with you."

Again, Raven followed Lakhri's lead here, bowing and leaving the room without voicing her displeasure at their decision. She was moping, though, despite trying not to get caught up in her emotions. It was hard when it was Eeth's life at stake here. She kicked at the wall with a boot, finding the gesture mildly cathartic and grateful that no droids were around to tell her off this time.

"I understand you, Raven," Lakhri said sympathetically, taking her attention away from beating up on the walls. "I really do. We're all anxious and worried and it would be so much easier if we could just do something. Still, the Council have had their say and it's final. And I know you will not agree with me, but I think they're right not to send you. Eeth would have made the same decision. He would not want you to get hurt or killed on his behalf. They're sending a really strong team to retrieve Eeth, though, if it's any consolation to you. If anyone can save Eeth, it's Master Tiin.

"I guess," Raven replied despondently. Of course she knew Lakhri was right, they were all right! But that didn't mean she had to like sitting back to wait when Eeth was in danger. In fact, It was the hardest thing anyone had ever asked from her to date.

When they entered their quarters a short while later, Raven was still looking decidedly crestfallen.

Lakhri put an arm around Raven and turned her to face him. "Raven," he said quite gently. "Your life matters to the Council, it matters to me, and most of all, it matters to Eeth. Whether you like it or not – and I know that you don't – the Council's decision is not open for debate. It's best to accept it and move on. Do I have your word that you will obey it?" He might be sympathetic, but he was not naive! Raven would not be the first padawan to try and go after her missing master, against explicit orders.

Raven looked at Lakhri as he spoke. She understood in theory, it was just a matter of convincing her heart to go along with her head. Her gaze dropped as he asked her to give her word. It wasn't like she had any plans to go after Eeth, at least not right now. Heck, how could she possibly? Lakhri had busted her going to a freakin diner, for the Force's sake! What hope did she have of leaving the Temple unnoticed? No, Raven was rather resigned to the fact that, short of some profound message directly from the Force, there was nothing else she could do. Thus, she nodded a silent affirmative, and then she looked up. This wasn't Lakhri's fault, after all, and she was doing her best not to drag him down.

Lakhri gave her a kindly smile. "Tell you what," he said. "I'll excuse you from classes tomorrow. You had no time to prepare for any of them, and it's none of your fault. Besides, after this day, you must be dead tired and you really need a break. You can get some sleep, catch up on your classwork tomorrow and we'll try again to connect with Eeth, just to be on the safe side. It's going to work much better when you are rested. Alright?"

He knew that all that must sound pretty feeble to Raven, who had more important things on her mind; but it was the best he could offer under the circumstances.

Indeed, nothing short of hearing that she was cleared to aid in Eeth's rescue would spark much interest for Raven right now. Still, she appreciated the fact that he was trying to make this easier on her, even when it must be just as hard on him. Thus, the thanks she gave in response to the day off classes was given with a genuine smile; Eeth would expect her to pull herself together and do what was required of her, and so that was what she did.

Raven disappeared into her room to shower, change and complete her evening chores, only resurfacing again when Lakhri called her out to help prepare dinner. This calmed her down a little, as it was a familiar chore that she enjoyed doing.

"Hey, Lakhri? I could really use some time out to be with my friends. I think it might help. Can I go to the lounge tonight?" she asked, placing the last tuber into the pot.

Lakhri pondered this for a long moment; longer than he would have usually done. He had no real reason to deny the request, though, other than the fact that Raven was clearly exhausted. But she was hardly going to go to bed at seven anyway. And since he had not grounded her for yesterday's stunt, her illicit excursion to the diner was no reason to forbid her from going out either.

"Alright," he finally said. "But you are to get home at eight thirty. You really need an early bedtime tonight, as do I. And only to the padawan lounge. If I hear of you even getting near one of the Temple exits, there is going to be real trouble."

"Aw, Lakhri, don't be like that. I can't get out of the Temple when you're not expecting it, do you really think I'd try it on when you were?" It was a fair enough statement, and it was more statement than genuine question. She smiled, and the two continued to banter while they prepared and ate dinner. Raven was doing her best to pull herself out of this slump. When she had eaten as much as her nervous stomach could handle, she put down her fork and started fidgeting, her leg bouncing and hand tapping impatiently.

Lakhri rested his hand on hers to calm her down, if only because her fidgeting was irritating. "Would you like to clear away your dishes and leave?" he asked. "I know it's not good manners and I wouldn't normally allow it but you really do need a break tonight."

Raven shot her Jedi brother a sheepish expression as he stilled her hands, and then her expression turned to a smile at his offer. "Thanks, Lakhri, you're awesome. I'll make it up to you, I promise." And she really would, too. She put her dishes in the sink, and while giving them a quick rinse, she asked: "Did I ever tell you about the time Eeth tried to make me eat pond slime? And then, when I tried hiding it, he dragged me out of a packed dining hall by the ear?"

Lakhri chuckled. "No," he said. "But I have no trouble imagining it. He can be totally unsympathetic that way, and very insistent. You learn to pick your food very carefully. He will hardly ever make you eat anything more than what you put on your plate, though, unless you try to live off desserts… I've been there. He kind of indulged my sweet tooth to a certain extent, but when I tried to eat sweet meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, he really put his foot down. Swiftly and efficiently."

Ladling some more food onto his plate, he said: "Off you go. And remember, be back at eight thirty."

"Eight thirty," Raven repeated, and exited without further comment. She wasn't particularly looking forward to this, given how crap she felt, but then again, her friends always managed to cheer her up.

And they succeeded, to some extent. Bindi reminded her how kick-ass Eeth was, and that there was no way anyone managed to get one over on him, and the others all agreed. Eventually, the conversation ended up on flying speeders, which of course had Raven's complete and undivided attention. That was until she spotted Lin entering the lounge. Raven almost stood, planning to go talk to her about the mission to rescue Eeth, but hesitated; the truth was, she didn't really hang out with the girl outside of She'am's class, not really. Thus, she settled on a nod in acknowledgement and filled her friends in on who Lin was.

"Why don't you go and talk to her? I'm sure she'll put your mind at ease," proposed Teek, one of the newer members to their group.

"Maybe, but then again, it might just have the opposite effect. She's not that much better than me with a saber, you know. Not that the Council seemed to notice that," griped Raven.

At that moment, Kyle entered with a couple of his friends. He stopped to chat with Lin on his way to the corner seats where he usually sat, and Raven seized the opportunity. She knew Kyle (who was also from She'am's class) a little better than Lin, which would make it less awkward.

"Hey," said Raven in way of greeting.

"Hey yourself," replied Kyle, giving her a smile. He liked the girl; she was gutsy for such a little thing.

Lin smiled. "I wondered how long it would take you to come talk to me. You want to know about the mission, right?" she said, coming directly to the point as was typical for her.

It briefly crossed Raven's mind to say that this was not her motivation for coming over at all, but it was such an outrageous lie that even thinking of doing that caused a guilty expression. "Umm, yeah. You're going to rescue my master, I'm worried about him, you know?"

"I do. I would be worried, too, if it was my master out there," Lin reassured her.

"Wait, isn't your master Eeth Koth?" interrupted one of Lin's friends seated opposite, and upon receiving a nod in response, continued, "Pff, then don't worry, that guy's indestructible. Have you seen him fight?" The question was more directed at the others listening in on the conversation, but Raven nodded anyway.

"Yeah, but a lightsaber won't help him if they decide to blow up wherever he is…" Raven said without particular sarcasm; it was too painful a subject to be sarcastic.

She turned her attention back to Lin and asked: "So, when do you leave?" in an effort at redirecting the conversation back to Lin and her mission. It wasn't that she didn't love hearing how awesome everyone thought her master was. She did, but she wanted to know more about this mission.

"Tomorrow morning," replied Lin.

"Tomorrow morning? Why so long?" Raven wanted to know.

Lin snorted. "When I say 'morning' I mean like 0300. They need time to disguise one of the ships as an Antar III vessel and get organised, after all."

Raven looked surprised. "And your master is letting you come here?" She rather thought Eeth would have her on lockdown from the time she left classes that afternoon until their departure time if this was her.

"I'm sixteen years old," Lin scoffed although, truth be told, she did indeed have an early curfew tonight and would need to be back in their quarters by eight. Not that she cared to divulge this information.

Raven took that at face value but spent the next ten minutes drilling the teen over the details.

Lin obliged for the most part, but when Raven started asking for specifics like which hangar bay they were leaving from and the like, she started to wonder why the girl wanted to know.

Kyle, too, wondered the same. He hoped she wasn't planning to try anything stupid. He also noticed Lin's expression and decided to change the subject, starting to boast about the hall scrubbing droid he had reprogrammed to polish his boots.

Kyle's story wasn't as interesting as hearing about Lin's mission, but it did give Raven an idea… So far, the notion of trying to sneak her way into the rescue mission had been purely fanciful, but, what if she did? Sure, there would be literally hell to pay for such an act of disobedience, but if it saved Eeth's life, was she willing to risk the Council's wrath? Yes, she just might be!

Raven was mostly quiet once she returned to her friends, not that any of them could blame her. They all did their best to help keep her mind off it, though. When Lin got up and left around eight, Raven felt an overwhelming urge to follow her. Why? She had no idea. It wasn't like she could walk into their quarters and announce that she was there to tag along for the ride! Ridiculous.

"I bet he's out there hiding somewhere, waiting to take down the heads of the Antar III rebels or something," Orion said in an encouraging tone.

"Yeah, he probably is," Raven agreed, if only because she knew that Orion was trying to help ease her worries. The truth was, Raven didn't know what Eeth was doing right now. He was alive and that was the only absolute.

Raven spent another half hour sitting with her friends before heading back to the quarters she now shared with Lakhri. Her expression was still a little sombre, but she had an idea now – well, kinda…

Lakhri looked up from the book he was reading as Raven entered and gave her a small smile. He had been trying to take his mind off things the way he usually did, by reading a good book, but it had not worked as well as he had hoped it would. He kept being distracted by thoughts of Eeth. He had never really held a grudge against his old master or anything but nor had he been aware how attached he had become to the man! The extent of his fear for Eeth's life made that painfully obvious. And unfortunately, Lakhri was experienced enough to know that his fears were realistic. Sure, Eeth was the paragon of competence but then, there were many ways people could die, despite all their competence. It had happened to the best of Jedi, and it could happen to Eeth as well.

"Hello, Raven," he said a tad wearily, deciding not to voice any of these thoughts. "Force, you look tired. Do you feel up to another meditation, or do you want to go to bed and postpone it till the morning?"

Lakhri wouldn't have minded another attempt at getting a life sign from Eeth, but he realised that this might mean asking too much from a completely exhausted padawan.

"Please, Lakhri, can I just go to bed?" she asked, giving him a pitiful look. It was not that she was too tired; after all, this was her master they were talking about and she would do anything to aid in saving him! It was more that she didn't want Lakhri picking up on any of her feelings right now, because if she decided to actually go through with the idea of attempting to join Tiin's mission team, the last thing she needed was to tip Lakhri off.

"Alright," Lakhri replied quietly. There was something off about her response but he could not quite put his finger on it. Therefore, he decided to let the matter rest. He put a calming hand on Raven's shoulder and said: "Go and get some sleep. Force knows you need it. I'm going to let you sleep in tomorrow. And try not to worry too much. Master Tiin is more than capable of retrieving your master."

* * *

While Lakhri and Raven were having this brief talk, Eeth was wedging himself into a narrow space in the main cargo hold on the space station, well-hidden behind two crates of weaponry. He pulled a water bottle out of his utility belt and took a carefully measured sip. Food and water were problems. Before the negotiations, the station had mostly been staffed with droids and consequently had an impressive power supply, but low reserves of food and water. During the negotiations, shipments from the neighboring planets had come in, but that had been on a day-to-day basis; in the war-torn stellar system, food and clean water were valuable commodities, and nobody had wanted to waste too much of them on negotiations that might be terminated any time. Now, the station was manned by a mix of mercenaries and large squadrons of droids. The mercenaries were low on food and water themselves, and stealing from them was a last resort. Eeth's main advantage lay in the fact that nobody knew he was here and he wanted things to stay that way. Therefore, he was keen to avoid arousing suspicion by all means.

The droids were another problem. They never slept, and they were not susceptible to Force suggestions or Force-aided concealment techniques. Of course, most of them were run-of-the-mill battle droids that were no match for a skilled Jedi, but cutting a droid's head off with a lightsaber would not exactly be unobtrusive. Eeth just hoped that an opportunity to get out of here would present itself soon. He had tried to get onto one of the two last spaceships to leave the station, but it had been too late; the ships had been captured by a whole fleet of Antar III battle ships before they had even left the hangar. His choices had been limited: fight, and risk not only his own death, but also that of the other delegates on his ship; let himself get captured and be held as hostage, thereby giving Antar III an opportunity to force the Republic to keep out of their affairs; or hide and hope to find a way to escape later. The last option had made the most logical sense although it meant abandoning the delegates and allowing Antar III to seize them, which he had been loath to do despite knowing it was unavoidable. To his relief, he soon found out that they had been exchanged against the would-be assassins that he had apprehended before the negotiations had broken down. As a result, the only person who was in acute danger on the space station was himself.

As far as he had been able to find out, Antar III meant to use the space station as a base from which to attack the other planets. They were still gathering starfighters and weaponry and had not moved to undertake an actual attack yet. Consequently, the station was nowhere near a planet, and any outbound ship was more than likely to arouse suspicion. Eeth knew he could manage to swipe a starfighter with careful planning, but it was likely to be bombed to smithereens before he could reach any safe destination. None of the ships he had been able to see had a hyperspace drive. His best bet was one of the freighters that delivered provisions. So far, there had only been one of them, and he had been in a different part of the space station when it arrived. By the time he had found out that a ship had arrived and that it was being unloaded, it had already been too late to find a way to board it.

Since then, he had been working on a plan. He had taken out a mercenary and donned the man's clothes, careful to make it look as if the man had simply been drunk and passed out cold. He had then thrown his Jedi robes into a disposal chute where they would immediately be burned. Now he was hidden in the main cargo hold where he was sure to notice when new goods were being delivered. As soon as that happened, he would try and get onto the ship, either by stealth or by passing himself off as a crew member if the crew was numerous enough to make that plausible. For now, he decided to get some rest. Sleeping was out of the question, but meditation was a dire necessity. It would enable him to maintain a minimum of awareness of his surroundings. And so he waited.


	8. Chapter 8

Given the stress of the last week, sleeping should have come easy to Raven this night. It did not … She still lay awake an hour after Lakhri had sent her to bed, thinking. She was not distressed or restless, just conflicted. Eeth was currently in great danger caught up in a war in the Antar system, and a team of Jedi, including Lin from She'am's combat strategy class, had been assigned to go rescue him. Unfortunately, and despite the fact that she had pleaded her case, the Council would not allow Raven to assist their efforts, even though her presence would help drastically in locating her master once in the Antar system, thanks to their training bond. Raven was now considering the idea of attempting to sneak aboard the rescue ship. It was not a decision to be made lightly, though. In fact, the padawan had deliberated over whether or not it was worth it since leaving the padawan lounge. Right now, she was leaning heavily towards making the attempt, but still could not commit outright. So, she settled on setting a silent alarm on her watch for 0200. The ship left at 0300; she would decide when the time was right.

Lakhri was not normally an early sleeper but today, he was exhausted. Having sent Raven off to bed, he tried to read some more but soon gave up. He simply could not focus. Generally, he was not as fond of tea as Eeth but he knew that his former master stored some blends that would help calm his nerves. He picked one, brewed himself a pot of it, watched half a documentary while he drank it and felt himself become drowsy long before it finished. Going to check on Raven, he found her sound asleep. He fell asleep himself almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. After the emotionally draining day they had both had, he had been tired to the bone.

Raven, too, slept like a log once she finally managed to drift off, and had it not been for her silent alarm several hours later, the padawan would have quite easily slept through until whenever Lakhri allowed the following morning. As it was, Raven now stared bleary-eyed at her wrist, scrubbing at tired eyes. It only took a moment to remember why she was up, though, and suddenly Raven was very much awake. It was time to make a decision, yet the girl was still conflicted! She closed her eyes, took a breath and willed the Force to guide her, but all that really achieved in her tired state was to reinforce what she wanted to do, which was to follow after Eeth and get him the hell out of Antar before anyone could blow him up!

Decision made, Raven dressed, stuffed a pack with everything she could think of and crept to the door. If Lakhri was anything like Eeth, she didn't like her chances of getting out undetected. So, she waited until a cleaning droid buzzed past outside before palming open the front door and stepping out.

Raven did not stop or look back until she had reached the hangar Lin had told her about. In fact, she ran the entire way at full speed and was working to catch her breath while reaching into her pack to locate the fork that she had taken out of their kitchen drawer before leaving. The next part of her plan was courtesy of her fellow padawan and genius at droid electronics, Kyle, not that the older padawan knew it.

* * *

"There you are," said Saesee Tiin to Knight Ulsang who came hurrying up, a mission bag in hand, and bowed to the assembled mission team. Master Shackath and Lin were standing beside Tiin. Several workers were busy removing the scaffolding of the ship they had painted in Antar III's trademark blood red. The other vessel, which was to be Shackath's and Lin's, was still being stocked with provisions and power cells but there were only a couple of crates left to load.

"The ships should be ready in five to ten minutes," said Tiin. "While we wait, let us quickly revise the procedure. Time is of the essence, and communication will be more difficult once we are in hyperspace. Now, you, Master Shackath, will–"

He broke off, frowning, as a grinding noise could be heard from the back of the hangar, at the far side of the ships. Suddenly, a shrill alarm went off that had their ears ringing. Lin said something in bewilderment but nobody could hear her, they just saw her mouth moving. Tiin nodded for Ulsang to check out the source of the alarm and the knight immediately darted off, quickly followed by Shackath and Lin. Tiin followed, too, but more slowly. He knew that the hangar's service teams were equipped to handle whatever unexpected incident might occur. Besides, he was familiar with the concept of diversions, meaning that the cause of the alarm might not necessarily be where the noise came from. Therefore, he was on his guard, stretching his senses in all directions, rather than focussing exclusively on the direction from which they heard the alarm.

Well, Raven thought, that had worked a lot better than she could have ever hoped! Which further confirmed that she was indeed doing the right thing. The Force was with her, else, the droid might not have responded to her crude effort at basic reprogramming. As it was, however, the diversion had been a raging success, even if she had only been going off Kyle's explanation. Stuffing the fork that she had used to pop the droid's cover back into the pack, she leapt from her hiding spot in the shadows behind another ship, waited until she saw a droid pulling a crate that was marked for the storage of used power cells and quickly jumped inside, pulling the cover over. Of course this would only conceal her physical presence, she knew, and so the padawan did her best to conceal herself within the Force. This was going to be the only part of her plan that was hit or miss, as it was a skill that she had not yet fully developed. The ship's cargo bays were often used by teams and therefore being taken to a section of the ship that was not pressurised was of no concern. Now all she had to do was keep her head down and hope that no one noticed her until they were in hyperspace, at which time she would reveal herself. They would have to take her then, as it would be too late to turn back.

Unfortunately for Raven, her ability to conceal her presence through the Force was no match for Master Tiin's ability to sense living beings, especially when he was already on his guard. What was more, Knight Belsan, who was in charge of the hangar operations that night, had immediately switched to the view of this particular hangar on the screens in his control room when the alarm went off – only to spot a girl jumping into a crate that was just being loaded onto Shackath's ship. Obviously, she was unaware that there were cameras on the ceiling.

He dialled Saesee Tiin's comm code and, benefiting from the fact that his staff had just managed to close the emergency exit and shut off the alarm, said tersely: "You've got a stowaway on Shackath's ship. In a crate for used power cells that's just been loaded."

"So I noticed," Tiin said drily. "Come down here and take care of whoever it is. We need to leave."

He terminated the call, ordered Ulsang, Shackath and Lin to take their stations and prepare for take-off, and made for the storage bay of Shackath's ship where the droid had deposited the crate.

Tiin lost no time in lifting off the cover and pulling out Raven by the scruff of her neck. That this was Eeth Koth's padawan was no surprise to him. Still, it was no reason to lose any more time.

"Get off this ship, now," Tiin barked, emphasising his order with a swat to Raven's rear end.

"Hey, no, wait!" she complained indignantly, struggling to be released and reaching back to protect her backside from further assault. Raven stopped all retaliation, though, when she realised who had a hold of her. It was Saesee Tiin, an Iktotchi Jedi master who was not only a member of the Jedi Council, but also a personal friend of Eeth's. Fuck. This wasn't good, and the expression on her face said exactly that. Suffice it to say, Raven ran off the ship with as much haste as she could muster, eager to put some distance between herself and the Jedi master. He didn't look happy, and her backside agreed with this observation.

Tiin followed her out and closed the hatch behind him. That way, Shackath and Lin could leave as soon as they were ready. He needed to get to his own ship where Ulsang was already firing up the engines. Fortunately, Knight Belsan was already heading towards them.

"This," said Tiin to Belsan, grabbing Raven by her braid from behind and thus forcing her to a halt efficiently, if not painlessly, "is Eeth Koth's padawan. Call Knight Tumuel who is currently in charge of her. And notify the Council of this. I have no more time to lose."

Raven let out a hiss, both hands reaching for her braid in an effort at relieving the pain. It was ineffective, and so she remained silent and rose up on her toes to keep the pressure off her poor braid.

"Of course," said Knight Belsan, shooting Raven a cross look. "May the Force be with you." Saesee Tiin released his grip on her braid, gave a curt bow and headed for his blood-red ship.

The second Tiin released her, Raven shot him a dirty look and started rubbing. It hadn't been horrendously painful, but neither had he been gentle!

Knight Belsan lost no time in detaching a comlink from his belt and holding it out to Raven.

"Call Knight Tumuel, then," he ordered.

"I don't suppose you'll consider making a deal?" she hedged, shooting Belsan a hopeful look and accepting the comlink. Lakhri wasn't going to be happy about this… She looked back as the ships left the hangar, and with them any hopes of assisting the teams in finding her master.

"No," snapped Belsan. "I will not consider anything of the kind. You, however, should consider what the Council will have to say about this. Under the circumstances, obeying your orders would be a very good idea."

It was not that Belsan was entirely unsympathetic. Like everyone in the Temple, he had heard that Eeth Koth had gone missing, and if it had him worried, he could only imagine how it must be for the man's padawan. Nor was Raven remotely the first padawan to try such a stunt. Still, the Jedi tended to take a dim view of unauthorised rescue attempts, for good reason. They could seriously delay or hamper missions and even put members of the mission team at risk. Therefore, Belsan thought it better to leave no room for ambiguity here. Tiin, apparently, had thought along the same lines and Belsan had no doubt that he would have dealt with Raven similarly firmly, had he had the time to do so. As it was, however, the two ships were already making their way to the airlocks.

The Council? What did this have to do with the Council, Raven thought. However, she refrained from voicing that question for now. Only really, reeeeally serious things were taken to the Council! Surely this wasn't THAT bad. Surely? … Raven looked at the comlink, and then she looked back at Belsan, her expression reluctant. Well, apparently he wasn't giving her a choice here, and so despite not wanting to, Raven punched in Lakhri's comcode and waited.

It took an unusually long time for Lakhri to notice that someone was calling. The tea had done a good job; he had really been out like a light and slept like a log until the insistent beeping of the comm unit pierced his sleep. When he finally woke, he was out of bed like a shot. After all, the most likely reason for anyone to call at this hour of the night was news from Eeth!

"Raven?" he asked, dumbfounded, peering at the hologram in front of him. "Where are YOU calling from?" He had, of course, had no opportunity to realise that she was not in their quarters!

Raven opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out. Instead, she coughed, shifted her weight and generally looked uncomfortable. "Hangar bay 33A," she decided on, and looked decidedly sheepish. It briefly crossed her mind to tell him that she had come to see the teams off, but seriously doubted Belsan was going to let her get away with that. Besides, Tiin knew, too, as did the others. Sighing, she tried not to look as guilty as she felt. "I'm here with Knight Belsan," she added, hoping to be helpful.

"Oh, give that here," Belsan said impatiently, grabbing the comlink. "Knight Tumuel?" he said as the image of a sleep-tousled Lakhri appeared before him. "Yes, Eeth Koth's padawan is here with me, and I'd be ever so grateful if you could pick her up. I have more important work to do than looking after would-be stowaways. Among other things, as per Master Tiin's instructions, I need to notify the Council of her attempt to get on board one of the mission team's ships."

Lakhri processed these words fast, despite his sleep-bedraggled state. Adrenaline was starting to kick in, making him sufficiently alert to refrain from asking stupid questions.

"Alright," he merely said. "I'll come and get her."

"Thank you," said Belsan, terminating the connection. He reattached the comlink to his belt and turned towards the hangar gates where the ships were just leaving the airlock and heading for the open sky.

Raven, too, was watching the ships depart, and with them, any hopes of helping Eeth. Well, there was literally not a thing she could do about that now, short of some miracle. Said miracle never came. Lakhri, however, did, and he didn't look pleased. Deciding that she ought to say something before Belsan got in and made it any worse, Raven stepped forward. "Lakhri, I'm really sorry. I could have come home by myself, but they wouldn't let me." Naturally, she knew that Lakhri would have graver concerns than being dragged from his bed. Still, she had to try.

"That," said Lakhri, "is hardly my main complaint."

"Complain away, but do it somewhere outside this hangar," Belsan said, although the look he gave Lakhri was more sympathetic than his words. "I have work to do. Expect a call from the Council tomorrow – well, today. Good night; or rather, good morning."

He nodded at them and left for the control room.

"We will go home and get some more sleep," Lakhri said quietly. "This is too serious to even start dealing with in the middle of the night. You probably heard that the Council will be notified. They are not generally impressed with padawans who interfere with critical missions. Nor am I happy about the amount of deceit and disobedience that you displayed, much as I admire your determination to risk your life in order to save your master. But we will talk more about it in the morning. Off to bed." He beckoned Raven out of the hangar, towards the turbolifts.

Raven nodded. She wasn't sure how bad what she had done really was, but judging by everyone's reaction, it must be up there. She dragged her feet, following beside him for a while before asking. "I didn't set out to defy you, you know. I just felt that this was something I had to do. Apparently, it was a really bad idea." Raven looked over at him, her expression pensive. "The last time I got in trouble with the Council, they said I'd be on probation if it happened again. Do you think this was bad enough to warrant that?" Raven honestly wasn't sure. Equally, she wasn't sure she actually wanted to know the answer to that.

Lakhri was silent for a moment, pondering the question. Then he said reluctantly: "If you want my honest opinion, I'd say they will be unlikely to be impressed. And since this is the second time you've done something that warrants a Council meeting, and they warned you explicitly – well, probation is not exactly an unlikely outcome."

"I didn't do anything bad on a mission, though," she pointed out, although she kinda doubted the Council would see it that way. Probation would be the worst, especially as Raven had barely gained clearance! Sighing, she wrapped her arms about her middle, hoping to stave off the sick feeling building in her stomach. "Did you ever get in trouble with the Council?" Raven wanted to know, because right now, she was feeling a bit like the worst padawan in the galaxy. Sure, her intentions had been good and her heart in the right place but the Jedi weren't meant to let themselves be guided by such emotions. Yeah, easier said than done, or so Raven was discovering.

"Yeah," said Lakhri, even more reluctantly than before because this was something he was not keen to remember. "As a senior padawan, for disobeying Eeth on a mission, getting both of us injured and botching the mission because of it. Can I give you the details when I'm awake, though? I'd rather go to bed and get some more sleep."

It might be wholly un-Jedi-like of her, but hearing that Lakhri had failed and been hauled before the Council himself unknotted her stomach, if only a little. Still, this was the second time the Council had cause to chew her out over something, which really didn't bode well for her given that she had barely been a padawan for a year now. At this rate, Raven was not going to make knighthood. All this and more ran through her mind, yet she said nothing; she had already dragged Lakhri out of bed and he had said himself that he was too tired to talk. That could mean a few things. Firstly, that he honestly was too tired to talk to her, or, he just didn't want to talk to her right now because he was miffed at her for deceiving him. Both were likely, and Raven would blame him for neither. Thus, she followed beside him, head down and doing her best to keep it together.

When they entered their quarters, Raven tossed her cloak over the rack, and sat on the floor by the door to pull off her boots.

"Will you be able to sleep?" Lakhri asked wearily, tossing his boots into a corner and throwing his cloak over an armchair as he would have never dared do if Eeth was around. "If not, I can help you."

Raven for her part, tucked her boots away by the wall, as had become her habit, and stood. She did like Lakhri's style; if Eeth caught him being so untidy, she was sure that he'd get told off. Well, maybe not, but the thought drew a slight smile. "I could use the help," Raven admitted, because it was true. Despite having improved her mental discipline considerably thanks to intense meditations with Lakhri, Raven was strung out and just wanted someone to flick off the lights for her. After everything that had happened and was about to happen, she didn't think the offer too childish to accept…

Lakhri followed Raven into her room, made her change into a nightshirt and provided her with a sleep compulsion that would knock her out for at least a few hours. Then he turned in himself but despite being exceedingly tired, he still had a hard time going to sleep. Compassion, disappointment, annoyance, frustration and guilt over not even having noticed that Raven had left their quarters were only some of the emotions warring inside him. The fact that he would have to discipline Raven somehow did not make things better, and the fact that part of him admired Raven for her nerve made them even worse. He tossed and turned for half an hour until he finally forced himself to meditate and release some of his emotions into the Force. Feeling a little calmer, he finally fell asleep.

As he had already excused Raven from her classes the previous night, he had not set an alarm clock and slept very late. When he finally awoke around nine thirty, it was to a flashing comm light indicating a message from the Council that asked Raven and him to present themselves at the Council chamber in less than half an hour. That woke him up fast enough. Adrenaline kicking in, he jumped up and ran to Raven's room, barely taking the time to knock before he entered and shook her awake. "Quickly," he urged, pulling the sleep-bedraggled padawan up.

"Ugh! Wait, why?! Masterrrrrr!" Raven whined as she was dragged to her feet. It wasn't until she realised that the hands that yanked her from her bed were far too small and gentle to be Eeth's, that the memories of this last week came rushing back. Fuck! She staggered for a moment, and then focused.

"We've got to appear in front of the Council, and we both overslept. You've got about fifteen minutes to make yourself presentable," said Lakhri. In a way, he was glad that this was going to happen before he had his own talk with Raven; hearing what kind of discipline the Council imposed upon Raven would make it easier for him to decide on his own consequences. He had no illusions about the fact that Eeth was going to add some consequences of his own, if he came back - no, WHEN he came back!

The words, 'quick!' and 'Council' registered, causing Raven to immediately straighten.

Exactly fifteen minutes later, the padawan presented herself in the common room, hair still damp, and pitiful expression pasted on her ashen face. She was scared, but of course, there was no way that she was going to let it on. Instead, she sat by the door and pulled on her boots, resisting the urge to ask for comfort, as much as she might want it.

"C'mon, let's go," said Lakhri, running a hand through his unruly curls. "We shouldn't keep the Council waiting. We'll have breakfast once we've got that over with." He was not looking forward to this at all.

* * *

In the meanwhile, Eeth had set his plan in motion. He had remained in a meditative trance for several hours, invisible in a niche behind the cargo crates. When the doors of the cargo hold hissed open, he surfaced from the trance immediately and made his way to a lookout point, silent and watchful. He used the Force to fade into the background, not noticeable for a living being who did not know he was there. This would not help against droids, though, so he was careful not the be seen.

Small groups of men brought in hovercarts with crates that probably contained food or weapons. They placed them in the far corner of the hall, then loaded the carts with empty crates that were closer to Eeth's location. Eeth had thought about hiding in one of the empty crates, but none of them had air holes, nor could they be easily opened from the inside, so he had discarded the idea. There was nothing left for him to do but take a calculated risk. As inconspicuously as he could, he moved towards the group of men taking out the empty crates. The men took no notice: his Force-aided concealment still made him invisible to them, and he was careful to move noiselessly and not touch anybody or anything. If they encountered droids, those would be likely to think that he belonged to the men.

He followed the group to a hangar where a freighter waited for them, its hatch open. A large number of droids was present around the ship, but none of them seemed to mind him. The other men provided cover, as he had hoped. Appearing to help guide the hovercarts up the ramp, he managed to board the freighter. Waiting for a moment where no droids were around, he took a turn to the left where the preceding men had turned right and silently made his way towards the bridge. He needed to hide somewhere near it. Once the ship had left the shooting range of the space station, he was going to have to capture the bridge, else he would be transported to Antar III, which was not a good place for him to be. He found a tool cupboard that was just large enough to hold him and closed the doors on himself. Then he waited, stretching out his senses for what was going on on the ship.

About an hour later, he heard a faint hum and sensed the engines vibrate. By this point, he could make out no more than five sentient living beings on the ship but he could not be sure about the number of droids. When the ship had taken off, he noiselessly left his cupboard and started to investigate. As was typical for freighters of this type, there was a galley right in front of the bridge, and that galley held four of the five beings aboard the ship while the fifth was in the cockpit. He was fairly certain that there were also some droids in the galley, judging from the voices he could overhear. He waited for ten more minutes in order to be safely out of the space station's orbit, and then he finally decided to act.

Opening the doors to the galley with a wave of his hand, he ignited his lightsaber and neatly disassembled the three battle droids that had jumped up, prepared to shoot, into a heap of smouldering metal. He usually avoided the destruction of droids when he could, but this type of battle droid was designed to fight until the end; they could not be reasoned with. The living beings staring at him in shock, however, could. Turning on them, lightsaber raised, he said calmly: "I am Master Eeth Koth of the Jedi Order. As you might know, the Jedi kill only in self-defense. Thus, it would be prudent for you not to give me any reason to have to defend myself. I suggest you drop your weapons." Two humans who looked like workers complied immediately. The two Iktotchi, who seemed to be mercenaries, took a long look at Eeth's face and stance and decided to follow suit.

"When I said 'drop your weapons'," Eeth said coolly, nodding towards one of the mercenaries, "I did not mean for you to keep the blaster in your pant leg." It was hurriedly added to the pile on the floor, together with a number of knives that had been hidden in sleeves and boots.

"What's going on?" the pilot called from the cockpit.

"The ship's been hijacked by a damn Jedi!" one of the mercenaries yelled back.

"I feel," said Eeth smoothly, "that 'hijacked' is too harsh a term. If you agree to give me a lift to Antar IV's main spaceport, you may keep your ship and continue on to Antar III unharmed. I have no wish to be part of this conflict. I would strongly advise you not to force me to hijack the ship for real. If you did, I might just decide to take you to Antar I, where ships from Antar III and their crew are not looked upon kindly right now."

After a moment's pause, the pilot called: "Sure! No problem! I'll drop you off at Antar IV!"

An hour later, Eeth left the ship at Antar IV's main space port, unscathed. The hatch closed behind him immediately and the ship took off. Eeth contacted the Republican Consulate which sent a shuttle and had him brought to their guest house from where he could finally call the Temple. The Council promised to have the first rescue ship, which was already halfway to the system, pick him up, collect his backup team from Antar II and bring all of them back to Coruscant. Just in case the ship was intercepted, Master Tiin would also continue on his course, while Shackath and Lin were called back to the Temple.

It was mid-morning on Coruscant by the time these arrangements had been made, and the Council asked Eeth to stay on hold for a little while so he could talk to his padawan who was due to appear in front of them any moment now.

* * *

Meanwhile, Raven was unenthusiastically making her way towards the Council chambers with Lakhri, feeling less and less confident the closer they got. At this point in time Raven was feeling far from brave. Okay, so realistically, the girl knew the Council would not take her life for this. Lakhri—despite probably whaling her within an inch of it—would not take her life. Eeth, on the other hand, had no such assurances and was in very real, mortal danger; his life had been on the line and to his stubborn apprentice, that was a cause worthy of defying a million Councils and knights. Yeah, that had been how she had felt at 0200 this morning when she had decided to try sneaking aboard Tiin's ship…

Unfortunately for Raven, it was not how the Council felt on this matter, and that was made abundantly clear to her.

When she was being shepherded into the Council chamber by a still slightly dishevelled-looking Lakhri, Yoda lost no time in stating that she was here for her attempt to interfere with an official and critical mission. Nobody expected her to reply to that; they were obviously not inclined to give Raven much room for defiance.

"Clear, the report we received from Knight Belsan is," Yoda said gravely. "Further investigation, not required it is."

"Correct," Mace Windu agreed. "And it is not the first time you are asked to report to us for grave misconduct either."

Adi Gallia rose and said: "Padawan Raven, for your defiance of the Council's orders, you will be on probation for three months. This means that your mission status will be put on hold. Any infractions occurring during your classes or training will be reported to the Council. The Council will make a final decision, based on these reports, after the three months have ended. That decision might involve further discipline, the extension of the probation period or its termination. Additionally, you will perform sixty hours of community service during the probation period."

Without giving Raven even the slightest chance to respond, Yarael Poof continued: "Knight Lakhri will doubtless want to exercise his own disciplinary rights for any act of disobedience or dishonesty towards him that you might have committed in order to stow away on the rescue ship."

"Yes, sure I will," Lakhri replied with an air of resigned determination.

The Councillors nodded.

Three months, sixty hours! The girl almost choked. That was a looong fucking time and a lot of work! Her breathing became increasingly uneven as the Council continued wiping the floor with her. Lakhri's determined comment only added to her growing nausea, and the betrayed look she shot him said as much. "But I only just got clearance! Please, can you reconsider?" Raven pleaded, giving them all a piteous expression. The hours of community service were going to suck, but then, she had not really expected to get away with zero consequences … However, suspending her mission clearance was really hitting below the belt! Or so she felt.

"No," said Mace Windu, giving her a glare that was designed to shut her up.

Raven might be brave, but facing off against the Council was a bit much, even for her. Thus, she did little more than lower her gaze in response to Mace's refusal.

"You will, of course," Adi Gallia remarked, "report your blatant disobedience to your master, who will decide on further appropriate disciplinary action."

"In case you were wondering how to do this," Mace Windu added, "we decided to give you an opportunity to speak to him. Right now."

"Now? You found him?" Raven couldn't keep the hope from her tone, and all thoughts of the horrifying consequences they had just bestowed flew out the waste hatch.

Mace waved his hand, and a holographic image of Eeth appeared in the center of the chamber. Scanning the room for a second, he turned swiftly towards Raven.

"Padawan," he said, inclining his head in the way he always did when she returned from an uneventful day of classes; but the uncharacteristically broad and genuine smile on his face belied his feelings at seeing her.

Raven didn't bother to try hiding the tears that streaked her face, or the fact that she had started sniffling. Rushing to face him, the padawan gave a low bow, returning his smile with her own watery version.

"Master! Are you hurt? A-are you somewhere safe?" she asked, desperate to have her relief confirmed.

"No, I am not hurt, and yes, I am safe," Eeth replied gently. "I am sorry I caused you so much worry. It could not be avoided. I could not escape the space station in time and had to hide. Any attempt at communication would have increased the risk of detection. I was able to escape, however. Currently, I am waiting for Master Hedrick and Knight Cinthia to pick me up at the Republican Embassy on Antar IV, which is neutral ground. I expect them to arrive here around ten hours from now. We will pick up my backup team from Antar II, and then we will head home. I expect to arrive on Coruscant the night after next in the early morning hours, if nothing unexpected happens. Are you doing alright?"

Eeth had not been told about his padawan's antics, but by the look on the Council members' faces, it was clear that they expected her to own up to what she had done. Lakhri felt a rush of compassion at seeing the circle of stern, commanding looks directed at Raven, who had just been through immense emotional turmoil. Resting a supportive hand on Raven's shoulder, whispered into her ear: "Just tell him. You will have to get it over with anyway, and he won't tear you to shreds in front of the entire Council. He'll save that for later."

He squeezed Raven's shoulder in an encouraging gesture before letting go and stepping back.

The relief she felt, coupled with the last forty-eight hours, was just about to push the padawan over when Lakhri unexpectedly came to her rescue. She was sure the knight was angry with her, given he had confirmed to the Council that he planned on imposing his own consequences, so hearing that he still had her back was enough of a consolation to face this next challenge. Straightening, Raven met her master's gaze with a resigned expression.

"Yes, Master, I-I'm fine. Umm, kinda," she began. Seeing his raised eyebrows, she reluctantly started explaining what she had done and why, not to mention the conflict she had felt.

"I was scared for you, scared that you might not have been found without the use of our training bond. I wanted to help, but I know that is no excuse and I shouldn't have done it… I'm sorry." she said in conclusion, managing to hold his gaze despite an overwhelming urge to drop it.

Eeth was not at all impressed with what he had heard, but not overly surprised either. Given the fact that even with the negotiations still going on, he had needed to become very stern on the comm in order to discourage Raven from doing something impulsive she would later regret, it was only natural that the news of his going missing would have induced her to resort to desperate means. His main feeling right now was one of relief that his padawan had been discovered before she had been exposed to any kind of danger or been able to endanger others. He knew he would have to strongly discourage her from ever doing something like this again but that could wait.

"Apology accepted," he said quietly. "I am touched that you would value my life above yours, and I can understand how you came to think that you could be of help to the rescue team. However, you disobeyed the Council's, Lakhri's and my own orders to stay where you are, and that is unacceptable. I assume you knew that your decision would have dire consequences before you gave Lakhri the slip, and dire consequences it will have. We will talk more about the issue when I am back. For now, I am glad that you are still at the Temple, where you belong, and I am genuinely looking forward to Seeing you the day after tomorrow. - That goes for you as well, Lakhri."

Lakhri just gave him a smile in response but did not speak. Despite his own immense relief at seeing Eeth alive and well, he thought that Raven had needed the talk with Eeth more than he did right now.

Raven had expected Eeth to be a lot terser, and she had certainly not expected him to say he understood, let alone admit to being touched by her effort. Nodding once at his closing comments, the padawan finally lost the struggle to hold his gaze and began examining the floor. "Please, just come back safe," she said, not wanting him to leave but equally not able to talk with any measure of comfort in a room full of Jedi watching her every tear and sniffle.

"I will," Eeth said in a surprisingly gentle tone of voice. "I will comm you in your quarters tonight, before my departure. May the Force be with you, padawan. And with you, Lakhri."

"And with you, master," Lakhri said in a slightly hoarse voice, embarrassed to find himself suddenly tearful in front of the whole Council. The comm connection broke off, and Eeth's picture vanished.

"That will be all," Mace Windu said. "We will see you back here three months from now, Padawan Trebeck. Hopefully no sooner than that. Thank you for your attendance, Knight Lakhri."

"Oh, of course," Lakhri replied and bowed to the Councillors. "May the Force be with you."

"May the Force be with you," the Council members replied.

Lakhri beckoned Raven out of the chamber.

"Phew," he said once they were out of earshot. "That's Eeth safe. I thought for a moment my knees would give way when I saw his hologram."

He hugged Raven briefly.

"And we'll take our time dealing with the rest," he added more quietly. "We'll have to fit the community service into your timetable somehow but I hope that can wait a day."

The hug was appreciated, and she returned it gratefully. She was so relieved to hear that Eeth was safe and coming home that she had all but forgotten about the terror of the Council's wrath, let alone considered Lakhri's. She scrunched up her nose at the mention of community service, but did not complain. She did, however, meet Lahri's gaze with a pitiful expression. "You wanna tear me up, too, I guess. I don't blame you, and I won't say that I don't deserve it, but, would you maybe consider going easy on me? The Council's punishment was pretty dire, and Force only knows what Eeth will do when he gets his hands on me. Probably something horrifying." Disobedience on this level reliably earned her the cane, Raven knew that, yet there was always the hope that he just might cut her some slack given the circumstances. Yeah…

Lakhri returned her pitiful gaze with a steadfast look of his own.

"Yes, that's likely," he said matter-of factly. "Don't you think you deserve more than a token punishment, though?"

He rather thought she did, after having disobeyed explicit orders, having deceived him and interfered with a critical rescue mission. Besides, he assumed that any kind of corporal punishment would actually be more merciful on the girl than additional chores or meditations, her schedule being what it was given that she had already earned herself a heap of community service. Still, he was interested to hear whether she actually thought she did not deserve some serious punishment or whether she simply did not want it.

"Well, yes," stated Raven, equally matter-of-fact. "But I don't think there is anything token about the punishments I've already received. At this rate, I'll be thirty before they let me go on another mission, and I can pretty much kiss all my free time goodbye. All that on top of whatever else Eeth decides to add." She dropped her gaze at this point and scuffed her boot. "You know it's going to be pretty bad, like he'll probably use the cane. I'm not saying you don't deserve a piece of me too, you do, but…" The padawan sighed. "Never mind. Look, I'm really sorry, Lakhri. I didn't set out to do this in order to spite you or anything. It was stupid." Besides, it was generally futile —not to mention frowned upon—to attempt talking yourself out of punishment.

"It was," Lakhri agreed. "And I'm going to have to call you to task for it, I'm afraid. I'm sure Eeth will take whatever punishment I mete out into account when he comes back. So, no, there's no way I'm going to go easy on you. Not because I'm angry with you but because there's a lesson you need to learn."

Averting her gaze, Raven folded her arms tightly across her chest and stared at the wall while they walked. She wasn't happy about all this, but what could she do about it? Nothing. "Well, I don't have to like it," came the eventual response.

"No, you don't," Lakhri agreed. "That's what makes it an effective punishment. Else, I'd be offering to buy you ice cream." He flashed a brief smile at her.

"You're right, but I don't think I can survive any more trauma." Raven couldn't help but complain, even though it was her own doing. "I suppose it's too much to hope for that you're planning on giving me a bunch of extra chores?" Raven had a pretty good idea of what was in store for her, yet one could always hope.

"Far too much," Lakhri said, palming open the door to their quarters. "Besides, you have enough chores on your plate as it is, what with sixty hours of community service and all."

"I'd take it, really." And Raven would, too, as anything was preferable to having her ass handed to her. Especially over something like disobedience. She sat on the floor and pulled off her boots, her expression and mood sullen, albeit resigned. Today had been a nightmare. Actually, the last week had been a nightmare!

"Well, you don't get to choose," Lakhri pointed out, pulling off his boots as well. "Before anything else, though, we'll have breakfast. And talk. The kind of talk where both of us are sitting upright."

"What do you want to talk about? My numerous failures as a padawan?" Raven made a face and kicked her boots aside; Eeth wasn't here to tell her off for it, and it felt kinda liberating in some strange way that she couldn't explain.

Lakhri raised his eyebrows as he went to the sink to wash his hands. "What, do you expect I'm going to sit you down and make you listen to a list of reasons why you're a horrible padawan?" he asked. "Is that really what you think this is about?"

Raven stood, leaning a hip into the wall that semi-separated their dining area from the kitchen. "Well, yeah. I kinda do," she said, shrugging to hide the fact that it hurt to admit such a thing aloud. Raven had harboured insecurities about not being good enough for her high-profile master since he had chosen her, no thanks to Rayan and her tendency to cling to things. She hid it well, though, most of the time. Now, however, she was really feeling it.

Lakhri gave her a scrutinising look. This, he thought, was all the more reason to talk to Raven about what this punishment meant and what it did NOT mean. He knew that it was going to be hard for Raven to feel that a punishment at this scale was meant to help her learn, rather than drive home the message that she was an entirely inadequate padawan. He was, however, ravenously hungry so he decided to prepare breakfast before discussing anything as complex as this. While he did so, Raven set the table.

Once they had sat down, Lakhri was preoccupied stuffing himself with food for a few minutes. He was simply almost always hungry, and missing meals was an ordeal for him. When he had eaten a fair amount of toast and fruit, he finally felt ready to face the doubtlessly difficult conversation he needed to have with Raven.

He took a sip of tea and said: "Look, Raven, the next couple of days are going to be really hard on you. You'll have to cope with your lessons, chores, the community service imposed upon you by the Council, the punishments Eeth and I will dish out and Force knows what else. I've been there myself a few times as a padawan, and I know it can make you feel like a horrible padawan, as if you're the biggest disappointment to the Jedi Order that has ever existed. That is what I want to talk to you about, before anything else. And I really want you to listen. Do I have your full attention?"

He looked at Raven solemnly, no trace of irony or condescension lacing his features.

The padawan slumped back into her chair and chewed half-heartedly at a piece of toast. She truly was beginning to despair and felt her life offered nothing but pain and disappointment, when she tried so hard to do what she felt was right. Hearing that Lakhri had been in her shoes a few times himself as a padawan helped a little, but then, Lakhri was good at classwork and manipulating the Force. Raven sucked at everything that mattered. Blowing out a sigh and tossing her half-eaten piece of toast onto the plate, the padawan met his gaze and nodded; she was paying attention.

"Raven, you are neither a terrible padawan nor are you accumulating failures," Lakhri said emphatically. "You are a strong, determined and compassionate person. You've got tremendous courage and willpower, and you are not the least bit conceited. All of these qualities will make you a wonderful Jedi. Just like everyone, you do have some faults that you need to work on: your temper, your stubbornness and your tendency to put your own judgment above that of others. As the Jedi Order has a rigid hierarchy and the path to knighthood is extremely demanding, it may seem sometimes as if these faults are all that exist, or at least all that anybody is noticing. But however much you feel that way, it is not true. The Council does not mete out correction to youngsters they don't believe in. Eeth would never have taken you as a padawan if he didn't see you as a worthwhile person, and I know that he hasn't changed his attitude since. Your decision to go and save him, against explicit orders, was an ill-advised one, and we are going to talk about why that is, but it also showed a kind heart, courage, ingenuity and a maximum amount of devotion to your master. Those are good qualities, and whatever I may say or do today, I see them in you and value them, a lot. I even admire them. At twelve, I wouldn't have had the same courage, although I might have desired to do exactly the same thing you did tonight. Do you hear what I'm saying?"

Despite assurances to the contrary, Raven had fully expected a lecture that would make her feel as guilty as humanly possible, closely followed by some sort of horribly painful punishment, and ending in meditation. What Lakhri said took the padawan by surprise, and she simply stared at him for a long moment, before frowning.

"Yes. You're saying that I wouldn't be in this much trouble with everyone if they didn't all think I was worth the effort, and that it was okay to want to save Eeth, but not okay to go through with it," Raven summarised what she thought the man was trying to tell her here. It wasn't that she disbelieved him, it was to the contrary. The thing was that it didn't really make her feel any less of a failure. Nothing short of Eeth's approval and her own successes would manage to squash her feelings of inadequacy. Still, it did make her heart feel lighter to hear that Lakhri thought her courageous and loyal; these were a few of her strong points that, as Lakhri had astutely pointed out, she felt like nobody ever noticed.

"Yes, I'm indeed telling you that you wouldn't be in trouble if nobody cared for you," Lakhri replied patiently and with a tiny hint of a smile crinkling his eyes, "and yes, it was okay for you to want to rescue your master, but no, it was most definitely not okay to actually try and do it against explicit orders. What I'm really trying to tell you, however, is that this does not make you a bad person. It merely makes you a good person who made a wrong choice."

Raven thought about this for quite some time. If she were truthful with herself, and she always tried to emulate Eeth in that respect, deep down she did not believe she was truly bad, because her intentions were good. That said, it was hard not to think poorly of herself when she was continually getting into trouble and making bad decisions. Very bad decisions that had equally dire repercussions! Deciding that this was a topic that was far too hard to deal with at the moment, the padawan dumped it into her 'too hard basket' and met the knight with a grateful expression.

"Thanks for saying, Lakhri. It's nice to hear that I get some things right," she said while dumping the piece of toast on her plate. How the man expected her to eat after everything that had happened she did not know, and she just wished today would end so she could wake up tomorrow and… Ugh, classes and community service.

"Oh, you do," Lakhri said sympathetically. "Look, nobody has ever pretended it wasn't going to be hard. When things get too difficult, you sometimes have to stop and ask yourself whether being a Jedi is what you really want. If the answer is yes, you will simply have to accept the hardship as a way to learn and improve yourself. And trust me, things will not always look as bleak as they do today. For one thing, Eeth is coming back. If he was not, that would be so much worse, wouldn't it? Now eat. I know you don't feel like it, but you need to."

"It would, yes," Raven agreed, picking up the bit of toast and taking a bite. No, she didn't want to eat it, but she had been Eeth's apprentice for over a year now and was well accustomed to being told to eat. Right now, Raven would rather do just about anything else but she refrained from complaining. Things were already not looking good for her immediate future and it would be wholly unwise to compound those problems by pissing off Lakhri over a piece of toast! She just had to make it through the next few days…


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks so much for the kind reviews and encouragement! It's good to see so many of you are enjoying our story and even feeling for our characters. We really liked writing/editing this story which is part of the reason why we've been putting up new chapters so fast. Also, we did not want to keep you in suspense unduly. ;) There's still some more excitement to come for our Jedi, so stay tuned!

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After the Council meeting wherein they had, among other things, been informed that Eeth was indeed safe on Antar IV and would soon be on his way home, Lakhri relished his belated breakfast. After all, they had slept late, left in a hurry and had no time to eat. Lakhri was accordingly hungry. Unsurprisingly, Raven was far less enthusiastic about eating and he had to repeatedly urge her to finish her piece of toast. Lakhri had eaten far more than that, but ultimately, even he was full and therefore out of reasons for postponing the inevitable.

Pushing his plate away, he said: "You know we do need to have a discussion of the other type, where 'discussion' is Jedi master jargon for physical discipline. And I want to get this over with. I suppose you're clear on why I'm going to punish you?"

Raven's face fell at hearing that, although it hardly came as a surprise. After all, Raven had snuck aboard a spaceship on an unauthorised attempt at helping rescue her master, and now everyone wanted a piece of her. Lakhri included.

She picked at a bit of now very cold and dry toast. "Because I lied to you about not going after Eeth, and I disobeyed by doing so anyway after you and the Council ordered me not to." It sounded pretty bad when it was put like that, but then, it was pretty bad, there was no denying that. Raven just hoped that, given that Lakhri was a knight and not accustomed to meting out correction on this scale, he might not be as hard on her as Eeth would.

"Yes, that more or less sums it up," said Lakhri. "And it is a serious offence. If we cannot trust you to obey your orders and keep your promises, we are better off not letting you go on missions. And I am not talking about my wounded feelings here but about rules that are meant to ensure everyone's safety. Not only yours but also that of others. Whether you like those rules or not, you will have to learn to stick to them, even when it doesn't suit you."

By the time Lakhri stopped talking, Raven had slunk even lower in her chair, if such a thing were possible. "I know," was all she could say to that, because she DID know. It just wasn't always easy to follow the rules and do as ordered. Going against the Council and Lakhri in order to try saving Eeth had certainly been one of those times! Well, she was going to pay for that now and over the next three months of her probation period. Being on probation was really frowned upon. It limited your usefulness to the Order, for one thing. For another thing, it was embarrassing having to tell her peers that the Council considered her too much of a risk to trust with anything important. Again, the padawan harbored feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, but she was pretty certain that she was about to have bigger problems…

"Good," said Lakhri. "Then go to your room. Bare your bottom, put a few pillows on your bed and lie over them. I'll be with you in a few minutes."

Raven blanched but had the wisdom to keep any protests to herself. Eeth had made her do this once before, and it had been entirely unpleasant. For obvious reasons, she did not like the idea of lying there with her bare backside in the air whilst waiting for someone to come whack it. It was very undignified. Not surprisingly, Raven was in no hurry to comply and took her time walking to her bedroom, dragging her feet the entire way.

It was a simple enough set of instructions, yet the padawan had great difficulty following them. She put the pillow on the edge of her bed, rolled her trousers to her knees and lay over it. Her feet were still touching the ground, but the position felt uncomfortably vulnerable. It was undignified for sure! It was then that an idea hit her: a sleep shirt would solve this dilemma! Relieved, she jumped up and started rummaging around for the one she'd thrown on the floor this morning. A couple of minutes later, Raven lay on the pillows once again. Her underpants were around her knees but the sleep shirt was covering her for now. It wasn't that Raven was a modest child; she had been raised in the Temple and was accustomed to nudity. The problem was the humiliation of having to lie there and wait in such an undignified position.

Lakhri knew he needed to make a point here. Raven might actually have ended up impeding the rescue mission, not to speak of the lying and disobedience that had been the side effects of her ill-advised plan. What she had done was considered a serious infraction among the Jedi, and the punishment he would mete out needed to reflect that. Thus, Lakhri was determined to leave an impression, and with that thought in mind, he went to the nearest meditation garden to cut a solid switch.

When he returned to their quarters and entered Raven's room, he found her on her bed as instructed, with a nightshirt covering her bottom.

"Raven, that is not what I asked for, and I think you know it," he said sternly. He did not feel that Raven was in any position to disobey even the most marginal instruction right now and he thought he'd rather make that clear to her.

"That will be six extra," he said, "and if your bottom is not bare within the next five seconds, I will add more. You have by far crossed the line where I'll be willing to make allowances for your personal dislike of the way I'm punishing you."

Okay, so shit was trumps. Raven didn't know what was worse, spotting the switch he planned on using, or hearing that she had extra! "Wait, no, wait, it is bare, look!" she blurted and reefed up her sleep shirt in order to prove this.

"Good," said Lakhri grimly. "You are still receiving six extra, which means a total of eighteen. The next time, just do exactly as I told you if you want to save yourself unnecessary pain. Put your hands under your forehead and keep them there." To his own surprise, he was starting to discover that he was quite good at asserting his authority when he was sufficiently determined. Well, he had been Eeth's apprentice, after all!

"Aw, but..." Raven started to protest, only to think better of it. The last time she had done similar, Eeth had done exactly the same thing, after all. She put her hands under her forehead as ordered, yet wasn't sure how long they would stay there! Eighteen was a lot, and the switch Lakhri had picked looked pretty nasty. Still, what choices did she have here? None! Thus, Raven lay there and prayed to any deity who might be listening that this not be as bad as she suspected it would be.

Lakhri positioned himself to her left and swiped the switch across her bottom nine times in rapid succession, each slightly diagonal line positioned just below the other. He knew from painful experience that, while this technique would not leave Raven any time to try and cover herself up in between licks, the accumulation of the sting of individual strokes would be… impressive, to say the least.

'Impressive' was hardly an adjective the padawan would have chosen, given her circumstances. In fact, she felt more inclined to reach for those with a more enthusiastic feel: 'agonising' being the first to pop to mind.

"Ouch! ouch! ow, ouchh! OW!" Twisting, wriggling, and balling her hands into fists, Raven did her best to keep still but it was virtually impossible. The sting was fierce, and no amount of writhing seemed to help.

"I'm sorry, please, it hurts!" she sniffled, because there was just no way she could take another nine of those without completely losing her shit.

Lakhri was not planning on giving her a choice, however. He did not like doing this but nor was he going to go back on his word.

"I know it does," he said calmly. "Here comes the other half." He moved over to Raven's right side, raised the switch again and brought it down another nine times as fast as he possibly could, this batch of diagonal stripes crisscrossing the earlier ones. And he knew perfectly well that this was agony!

Heaving a sigh of relief, he dropped the switch and waited for Raven to realise that it was over.

In hindsight, Raven should have been thankful that he had made it quick. The problem was that making it fast didn't mean it was any less painful. In fact, it meant the sting built to unbearable after half a dozen and remained at pure agony level for the rest. By the time Lakhri dropped the damned thing, Raven was crying loudly into her pillow, both hands now clutching chunks of her bedding, but she had managed to keep from reaching back, at least. Her mental discipline had increased a little thanks to the meditations Lakhri had helped her with to try locate Eeth.

Lakhri sat on the edge of Raven's bed and rested a comforting hand on her back. Truth be told, he felt like an ogre. At the same time, he knew she had deserved it. She simply needed to learn not to act on her impulses!

"It's over now," he said gently.

Raven never did understand how adults went from wrathful, switch-wielding disciplinarians to gentle companions quicker than the latest X-wing could fly a quarter mile! Well, it was what it was, and now the only thing Raven cared about was attempting to soothe her backside. At least the sting had stopped building, but it had been replaced with a burn, not a muscular burn like the cane, but more a surface area burn that just wouldn't quit! Still sniffling, Raven stood. Her sleepshirt dropped and Raven immediately hiked it up at the back; nothing was touching her ass right now unless it was ice or bacta! Leaning her hip into Lakhri's knee, she stared at the bed, rubbed at her backside and swiped a sleeve under her nose. Right now, all Raven could do was focus on stopping her breaths from hitching in her chest.

Lakhri looked for a handkerchief in his pockets and did not find one. Obviously, Eeth was better organised than he was in that regard. Of course, the man also handed out punishment much more frequently! Lakhri fetched a wad of tissues from the refresher and handed them to Raven.

"Clean yourself up a little," he said. "Then I would like you to meditate for half an hour. Not rest or sleep or think, but really meditate. When the half hour is over, you may come to the common room and we'll see what we can do about your bottom. And then we'll have a look at the lessons you need to do today."

Lakhri knew that Raven would not feel like doing classwork, but after she had missed out on her homework yesterday and on her classes this morning, she really needed to catch up. He was going to help her get organised and offer his assistance with her work. He had excused himself from his own classes for today, given that Raven was staying home.

The tissues were accepted gratefully, although Raven's sleeve had taken the brunt of it by now. Still, she dragged the wad under her nose while Lakhri spoke, if only to occupy her hands. What he said had her groaning, but again, that was the extent of her complaints because at this moment, Raven was quite certain that if Lakhri ordered her to jump off one of the Temple's spires, she would not argue with him. In fact, she silently vowed that she would never disobey ever, ever again. Alas, it was the same mantra every time, and yet, Raven managed to find herself struggling to uphold it. Feeling like the worst padawan in the universe, Raven blew her nose and swiped her sleeve across her eyes.

"I'm sorry for what I did and," she sniffled despite trying not to! "I-I know you h-had to do it, and I even accept that I deserved it, but," she frowned, her sniffles slowly morphing into sobs once again. "Lakhri, you really whaled on me, I mean rheeeally!" she stopped short of asking how she was meant to meditate if only because such a line had never worked with Eeth, despite how true it was, and just hoped that he got her inference.

Lakhri raised his eyebrows. "Well, yes," he said. "There was no way I could let you get away with a spanking over the seat of your pants for this. Let's be honest, Eeth would have given you the cane and maybe more than that, and he still might. Yours was a serious offence, Raven."

Her shoulders slumped. She knew that Lakhri was right, but that didn't mean she liked hearing it. Resigned, Raven put her hands by her sides, if only in an attempt to look like she was no longer sulking, and asked: "What do you want me to meditate on?"

Lakhri gave her a half-smile. "I am sure that after all this time as Eeth's padawan, you are able to take an educated guess," he said. He rose, picked up the used switch, left the room and closed the door behind himself softly.

'Show me a Jedi over twenty-five who isn't ambiguous,' Raven thought. She didn't voice that, though. She simply kept her head down, both hands on her ass, and followed him out with her eyes.

Lakhri dumped the switch into the bin and went to hunt for bacta. 'I will really have to stock up on it, at the rate I'm using up the supplies,' he thought as he raided Eeth's refresher.

Force, right now, Raven wanted nothing more than to rush into her refresher and sit on the cold tiles, but she considered it too risky to deviate from Lakhri's instructions; nothing short of the Temple being bombed would have Raven disobeying him. Thus, she set her watch for half an hour, knelt on her bed and thunked her head into the wall to do as asked.

Half an hour later, Raven slunk off her bed and stuck her head around the door, only to pull back again upon seeing Lakhri lying on the couch, reading. Why? Not sure, but she was reluctant to come out and face him after everything that had happened.

Lakhri looked up from the novel he had half-heartedly picked up.

"Want some bacta?" he asked, pointing to a small jar of ointment that was sitting on the couch table.

Raven pulled up short, midway between the door and her bed, and briefly contemplated pretending that she hadn't heard him. She was still embarrassed, but then, Lakhri had given her no more than she deserved. As a result, the padawan stuck her head back around the door once more, folded her arms about her chest and after a moment, walked out to stand by the nearest couch. "Yeah, I do," she replied, kneeling one knee on the arm of the couch and leaning into the backrest.

Lakhri sat up.

"Well, then," he said. "Lie down and bare your bottom. You know I suck at Force-aided healing but I'm okay at anything first aid. I really want you to be able to focus on your class work. You've got quite a heap of it to do today, I'm afraid."

Raven didn't need telling twice and in a flash she was on the couch, sleepshirt up around her waist. She hadn't bothered with her underpants as her ass honestly hurt too much for that. It was now at the itchy burning stage, so nothing short of Force-aided healing, bacta or sitting on something cold would help. Raven turned her head away as Lakhri unscrewed the jar and came to stand by the couch. "You still mad?" she asked, her words muffled by the backrest. She kinda knew he wasn't, but felt the need to say something, anything, lest he think she was sulking.

"No," said Lakhri, kneeling next to the couch and starting to dab bacta onto the welts carefully. "I never was. Not really. Nor is Eeth, as far as I can tell. Which, to be sure, doesn't mean that he won't call you to task for what you did."

Raven sighed, turning her head so that her voice was no longer muffled into the backrest. "Yeah, I know, and yet, you still took a switch to me, and not just any switch, but a nasty one!" There was no accusation in her tone, not really, but the inference was most definitely there.

"I did," said Lakhri matter-of-factly. "I wanted you to learn a lesson, after all. And switches are really effective at teaching it. Trust me, I've been there. I've received more switchings than I care to remember. When in the Temple, Eeth usually preferred to resort to his cupboard, but while on missions, he would come up with the most creative punishments. When he started using switches, I was horror-struck with how nasty they were, especially since I had felt relatively safe with his collection of spanking implements far away on Coruscant."

At this, Raven rose up on her elbows and turned to face him. "I thought the same thing, that was until he used his belt on my bare ass. Force, I thought I was going to die! It was even worse than the switch you used," she admitted. Besides, finding a common enemy in Eeth somehow made it easier for Raven to push any lingering resentment she felt towards Lakhri aside.

Lakhri chuckled as he gently massaged the dabs of bacta into the criss-crossing welts.. "How comforting to know that my punishments are not quite up to Eeth's standards," he quipped. "Personally, I hated the switch more than anything else, but his belt made an appearance more than once as well. Disobedience during a mission was sure to earn me the worst possible punishments. The one thing that made it a little more bearable was when Eeth's former master told me about the times she had to call Eeth to task."

He screwed the jar shut and pulled down Raven's sleepshirt to cover her bottom. "Stay like this for a few minutes. You should be much better by then."

Scooting back a little so he could look at Raven's face, he asked: "Do you remember what I told you before I got down to business?"

"Well, you said lots of things, which did you mean?" It hadn't gone unnoticed that Lakhri had actually warned her about the bacta. Eeth had not, and her underpants had stuck to her ass a couple of times before she worked that out for herself!

"The part about you not being a complete failure," said Lakhri.

"Oh, that," she said, dropping her gaze. Knowing that he was attempting to cheer her up, Raven decided to keep her true feelings on the subject to herself, because despite Lakhri's good intentions, the words Raven actually heard were: "The part about you not being a complete failure, because you're not a complete failure, you're only a 2/3 failure..." To Raven, the idea of becoming 1/3 of a knight was unacceptable. However, it did bring her to pondering alternative career choices, if only for the moment: chef? Argh! Force no, hanging around food all day was the last thing she wanted to do. Animal search and rescue, absolutely, now there was an idea worth looking into. It was a skill she had, even if it was completely useless in her opinion.

Despite Raven's intention to hide them, Lakhri could read her emotions quite plainly through her body language and facial expression. He had always been good with people.

"Now why do I sense that you are not convinced?" he asked wryly.

But maybe this part should be Eeth's, he thought. Besides the fact that Eeth shared an actual training bond with Raven and would be able to convey his feelings on the issue more directly, Lakhri really did not feel like sparing his former master all the 'dirty work.' That said, he personally did not really consider talking to Raven about her feelings 'dirty work', but he knew that Eeth would find it extremely awkward. Still, the man needed to learn to give emotional support, or to give more emotional support than he had done so far, and Lakhri suspected that Eeth knew it.

Raven gave him a slightly sheepish look but said nothing, hoping that he would not force her into talking about her insecurities. Force, it was bad enough that she sucked at just about everything, let alone having to confess to having doubts over her worthiness to be Eeth's apprentice, among other things.

Lakhri settled for merely saying: "Alright, we probably will have to agree to disagree for the moment. That's fine. Let me just tell you that I can honestly say I wasn't doing any better than you when I was your age, and yet I made it to knighthood. And that's enough pep talk for now, as you don't seem to be in the mood for it. Are you hungry at all?"

Raven shot him a grateful look, and she was grateful because if he had sensed her true feelings, he wasn't trying to force open the can of worms. Right now, all Raven wanted to do was bask in the relief the bacta was providing to her sore backside. This got her thinking. Raven stood, holding the back of her tunic up and fanning in order to speed up the drying process. "Hey, do you think I could hang on to that?" she asked, pointing down at the tin Lakhri had placed on their coffee table.

Lakhri laughed. "Eeth would have my hide if I handed you a tin of bacta,"he said. "He wants to be the one to decide when you get to heal your sore bottom and when you don't. Besides, it would be far too handy for concealing injuries. I once borrowed some bacta from the cupboard of a friend's master after I had kind of gotten into a fight. I wanted to heal my bruises before Eeth spotted them. Unfortunately, I had actually sprained my wrist and of course, he eventually found out. When he got the whole story out of me, he wasn't pleased."

Eeth might have Lakhri's hide, but it would undoubtedly end up saving hers! Still, Raven could concede that he had a point, and so she let it be. "What were you fighting about?" she asked curiously, walking to the dining room table and leaning into the edge. Her ass was starting to feel less like she had sat on a thorn bush which was always appreciated.

Lakhri shrugged. "I don't even remember. Such things happened frequently when I was a junior padawan. The other guy probably made fun of me because of my size. At the time, such things used to affect me a lot. I've grown out of that, though. Incredibly enough, Eeth helped me a lot with that - well, besides providing plenty of incentives not to get into fights, that is. I had a revengeful streak that he was not very tolerant of."

He plopped into a chair and said: "Well, you'll have to get to work. Let's have a look at your homework and the lessons you need to catch up on. You should try to finish your work by five as I've got a special training room booked for us. You wanted to learn Force-enhanced running, didn't you?"

Raven made a face at the mention of classwork, but the expression morphed into a smile at hearing they were going to do Force-enhanced running.

"Would you really? You would really teach me that?!" she asked, hoping that he wasn't just joking around. Raven could think of nothing she would rather do than a workout, although she wasn't entirely sure her backside would be up for it.

Lakhri grinned. "Yeah, I'll teach you. But you'll have to promise me that you're not going to practice it anywhere but on the training course unless you have been specifically cleared for it. You need to have an impeccable sense of the locations of objects and persons if you want to do Force-enhanced running in real-life situations, else you'll end up harming yourself or others. You're not quite there yet. So, you'll be restricted to the gym, for now. Do I have your word that you will stick to this restriction?"

Well, she was halfway there. Raven could sense life with uncanny precision but unfortunately, when it came to inanimate matter, like walls for instance, she completely sucked. Her immediate response was to blurt out a confirmation; to promise that she would stick to his rules in order to get what she wanted. However, if the last few months had been anything to go on, Raven was seriously beginning to doubt her trustworthiness, and it took quite a long time before she eventually glanced up at the knight once again.

"I can't promise, because, I've promised that I would do things like this lots of times before and, well, I failed," she admitted ashamedly, not wanting to draw attention to the most recent and obvious examples. "But if you'll teach me, I give you my word that I'll give you my best effort at obeying you. Please, Lakhri?" she begged him. Unsure of how he would react to her honesty and admission of failings, Raven fidgeted with the hem on her sleepshirt.

"Fair enough," Lakhri replied, amused, "as long as you understand that you will be in deep trouble for endangering yourself and others if you disobey and try this outside the training room. I'm going to tell Eeth what we've covered while he was gone, including the rules that go along with it, of course. Now, let's get to work. Your bottom should be much better by now, although I won't object if you prefer doing your school work lying on the couch or wherever. Let's have a look at your assignments, shall we?"

He took a look at Raven and added: "Or, umm, would you prefer to get dressed properly first?"

Raven craned her neck and pushed her ass around to get a look at it. Yep, the bacta was dry and the welts were starting to fade. "Yeah, I don't suppose you wanna stare at my ass any more than you have to." She chuckled at her own wit and went to her bedroom to change.

She could understand why there would be rules in learning Force-enhanced running. Some of her peers, even the older ones, had not yet started seriously learning the skill. It was with that in mind that she vowed not to throw this back in Lakhri's face by messing around with it outside of his company.

A few minutes later, Raven emerged, dressed in a pair of cotton sleep pants. They were almost threadbare but they were her favourite, which was why she had hung on to them even though Eeth had supplied her with new clothing upon becoming his apprentice. "I can do most of it myself," she stated, sliding the datapad onto the dining room table. "But if you want me finished by five, I might need some help with the maths." Raven averted her gaze,

"I, umm… Well…" She started to wonder if today was not going to consist of confession after confession! "Usually, if I get detention I will start doing my homework in that time, but my maths teacher is an ass, and he made me do other boring things instead!" she grumbled, clearly miffed at said 'boring things' .

"Hmm," said Lakhri. "Well, just do the best you can. I'll help you whenever you need my help. If you aren't finished by five, you'll have to complete the rest after dinner."

"Aw, I hate classwork," Raven muttered, sliding onto a chair. This didn't last long, though, and a second later she stood up again; bacta was great and all, but it took time and her ass still hurt. Mumbling something about the ridiculous amount of work she had to complete, Raven took her datapad to their common room where she proceeded to lie on the floor, one leg up the wall, and got to work.

By the time five pm rolled around, Lakhri had coached Raven through her entire stack of maths assignments with quite a bit of persuasion and the occasional scolding, and they had finished most of her biology lesson.

"I daresay you can manage the rest after dinner – if we make it a quick dinner," Lakhri decided. "You definitely need a break. Force, I need a break! Or don't you feel up to Force-enhanced running?"

"I feel up to anything after that!" she groaned, pushing her datapad aside and rolling onto her side. "Thanks for helping me. You didn't have to, and it would have taken me ages if you hadn't." Raven stood and stretched out tall, attempting to work some of the stiffness from her cramped legs, before heading off to change.

Ten minutes later, a much fresher-looking padawan wandered into their common room and, not seeing Lakhri waiting around, she flicked on the holo in the hopes of hearing something about Antar.

One second later, Lakhri left Eeth's bedroom, gym bag in hand.

"Umm, excuse me?" he said politely, causing Raven to jump up from the couch and spin to face him. "Did you want to have that lesson in Force-enhanced running or did you want to watch the holo channel?"

As this was more of a rhetorical question, ten minutes later the two of them entered a special gym that was mainly… long. Very, very, very long and completely empty.

"There you are," Lakhri said, grinning. "As long as you manage to run straight ahead, you should be fine. The wall at the far end is cushioned by a Force field, so even if you underestimate your speed, you won't hit it. But the first thing you need to do is to find your focus, so we'll start with meditation. Sorry for that. Things are going to become more active in a little while."

"Now how did I know you were going to say that," she said wryly and knelt to the floor. After a few false starts, and a couple of stern reminders to focus, Raven managed the desired state of mind. Since having spent hours with Lakhri trying to contact Eeth on Antar using their training bond, she had noticed that her focus had improved. Meditation was still difficult for her, but it was no longer the huge ordeal it had once been.

"Alright," Lakhri finally said. "That should be sufficient." He instructed Raven on how to let the Force guide her movements as she walked. Then he made her step up the pace and finally run.

Okay, so this isn't too bad, it's actually kinda fun! thought Raven. When she managed her first burst of Force-enhanced running, the girl's demeanor went from 'kinda fun' to exhilarated; this was amazzzingg! Unfortunately, exhilaration and focus did not generally work hand in hand, at least not for Raven. "STOP!" Lakhri called as Raven turned into a blur heading towards the far end of the gym, but it was too late. Before she could so much as register his command to stop, Raven had collided head-first with the Force field, bounced back and was flat on her ass. Lakhri flinched. While the collision shouldn't have hurt, he was fairly sure the fall onto her bottom had.

"Oww! That's just harsh!" Raven grumbled and muttered a few choice words under her breath before striding back towards Lakhri, who shot her an amused expression.

"It's not funny, I think I broke my ass," she said in a pseudo-indignant tone. The truth was, it was kinda funny. Just a bit, even if she did blame Lakhri for the tender state of her ass.

Lakhri laughed. "Sure you did. Still, you picked that up really fast. Of course, actually being able to control the whole thing is more difficult to achieve. That's what we'll work on today and tomorrow. Are you up to a second attempt?"

Raven didn't want to stop at the first, or even the second attempt. Raven could be stubborn like that: she would go at it until she got it right. With a determined set to her jaw, the padawan nodded. "Let's have at it."

Lakhri was good at this, and it showed in his prowess as a teacher, so by the time Raven was on her fifth attempt, she was beginning to see that, with time and practice, she might actually be able to do this.

"OWW!fuckitandshit!" Or perhaps not…

"That's it! That is the last time I fall on my ass today," she told herself, springing to her feet. Frustrated, the padawan lay a boot into the force field. Yep, that was unwise; it was designed to rebound things, after all. Raven stared up at the ceiling, arms crossed. She was staying down for now.

Lakhri was having none of this, however.

"Get up and come on over!" he called. "And stop mistreating the poor Force field. It won't feel a thing anyway. We'll try it together now." It wouldn't work as well as if they shared an actual training bond, but Raven would be able to share some of his sense of control and therefore hopefully not collide with the wall.

"The 'poor' Force field? What about my poor _ass_?" Raven replied, but stood and did as instructed all the same.

"It will get some rest soon," said Lakhri. "Come on, link with me and take my hand."

Nodding at his instructions, the padawan sought out the bright spot that she recognised as Lakhri's Force presence and began to focus like she had so many times this week.

She couldn't help but laugh as they skidded to a stop mere inches from the wall.

"One more time? Pleease?" Because that had been the most fun Raven had had in quite a while.

"Okay, one more time," Lakhri agreed. "After that, we will need to hit the dining hall for a quick dinner and get back to work, I'm afraid."

Raven didn't let the mention of more classwork put a damper on this experience. It was fun and she was pumped to do it again!

"That was so cool, Lakhri, I can't wait to do that by myself," she said, still laughing.

"With a little more practice, you will," Lakhri said, grinning. "Maybe even tomorrow; I'll try to book this training room again. Of course, being able to change course and to sense beings or things that are in the way fast enough will still take loads of practice, but it should be a fun kind of practice."

It was fun, even if she had landed on her ass! The prospect of getting to continue these lessons with Lakhri had Raven smiling widely. After all, she had half expected to be denied anything fun after trying to sneak aboard the rescue mission, not that she let this on.

"Now let's have dinner," said Lakhri. "And try not to acquire any additional assignments tomorrow. I'll need to prepare my own lessons and won't be able to help as much as I did today. Besides, you'll need to get started on your community service."

He clapped his hand on her shoulder in a companionable way and shepherded her out of the training room, since the next master with her padawan were already waiting.

As usual Raven was not exactly hungry, so she served herself half a scoop of pumpkin soup and a slice of toast. Apparently, Lakhri didn't care where they sat, and given that Raven could see nobody that she recognised, they just found a random quiet spot by a window to eat.

Raven sat down, gingerly, and began eating with obvious distraction. She was mentally rehashing the day and wondering how on Hoth she was going to survive long enough to be knighted. It was with that thought in mind that she began to wonder what Eeth would think of all of this. There was a real dilemma going on inside Raven at the moment. On one hand, she was so relieved that Eeth was alive, and couldn't wait for his return. On the other hand, he was going to be seriously pissed over everything that had happened, not just over interfering with his rescue mission, but also because she had left the Temple with She'am's class.

"I think Eeth might just kill me over all of this," she said when the mental tally of misdeeds was piled so high that the girl got a phantom crick in her neck. It was then that Raven realised that Lakhri probably had no idea what she was talking about, given that the statement had come out of nowhere. "I mean, he'll call tonight and all, so maybe when the entire Council isn't watching I'll be able to get a better idea of how mad he is," she said, trying to clarify.

"Hmm," Lakhri said neutrally. "I'd say he wasn't actually all that mad, by Eeth's standards. He probably expected something like this. I mean, the man isn't stupid. Yeah, he's gonna lay down the law alright, but I daresay he won't rip you to shreds. If I had to take a bet, I'd say a huge amount of extra meditations and, well, you know. He doesn't think you've been properly punished if you're still able to sit."

Raven made a face at this. Sure, she knew it as well as he did, but hearing it confirmed wasn't exactly comforting.

Lakhri gave her a sympathetic smile. "The good thing," he added, "is that he won't hold a grudge."

"He never does," Raven agreed and looked over at him. "Did you ever do anything this bad?"

"Oh yes," Lakhri said matter-of-factly. "It seems like the end of the world at the time. As you can see from the fact that I still live, however, it isn't really. And besides, what you did wasn't actually all that bad. It was a poor decision, certainly, and disobedient, but not BAD. Bad is when you sneak poisonous frogs into a crown prince's bedroom because he is getting on your nerves. That was one of my less than stellar moments. Boy, was Eeth mad. And he was MAD mad, not just disapproving-because-it's-against-the-rules mad like he is now."

That Lakhri considered what she had done as just against the rules was comforting, and it gave her the courage to ask him about it. "Oh, MAD mad … Yeah, I think I've seen that level of displeasure once or twice before." Raven picked up her toast and started eating again because she wasn't about to piss him off over refusing her food. "What did the crown prince do to get on your nerves?" she wanted to know.

Lakhri sighed. "He just was a pain in the ass," he replied. "A spoilt bully, and he picked me as a victim as soon as Eeth and I arrived. He and his friends were constantly laughing at me, teasing me, tripping me up, and so on. They found it hilarious. I did not. When we got a day off our negotiations, Eeth took me on a kind of nature ramble to take my mind off things, but the prince and his buddies managed to spoil even that. I had a hard time dealing with such things. In the end, I simply felt I couldn't ignore it any longer, so I put the frogs in his bed. I didn't expect him to get a severe allergic reaction, of course, but I should have. I had been told about the risks."

Taking a spoonful of dessert, he remarked: "I pretty much risked the success of our entire mission for this pointless bit of petty revenge, as well as another person's life, so in hindsight, I deserved what I got. Force, I would be mad if a padawan of mine did something like this! And it wasn't the first time either. I have already told you how I got to know Eeth. I had a tendency to play pranks on people in order to get my own back, and that's not particularly Jedi-like. Eeth has always been quite clear about that."

Eeth rarely told Raven stories about his youth, let alone those of the misspent youth kind, and so she was all ears. A revengeful streak was not among Raven's faults, but that didn't mean she couldn't relate to his situation. She could, and she wanted to know if Eeth was as hard on Lakhri then as he was on her now. "What did he do?" she hedged, trying to act like the question was not causing her a little embarrassment to ask.

Lakhri sighed. "You know when Eeth is truly mad if he spanks you several days in a row. Which is exactly what happened over the poisonous frogs. After the initial showdown, which was horrifying enough in itself, he spanked me every night for the remainder of our mission just so that I wouldn't forget to behave, and mind you, the mission took another ten days or so. If I hadn't lived up to his high expectations during the day, he used a switch instead of his infernal paddle. Afterwards, I had to do one hour of additional meditation every night and write lines. That was about the only time he actually made me write lines, and I was fourteen then! And the worst was that nobody was allowed to know that I was being punished because the royal family never found out who put the frogs in the crown prince's bedroom and Eeth thought it prudent not to tell them. Granted, he did some healing… but it was still among the most miserable experiences of my padawanhood."

Raven listened with increasing horror as Lakhri outlined what had happened.

"Force, you're not kidding; that was pretty bad. I know you're not going to like this, but I can understand how you felt," she admitted. "Force, I'd be miffed if anyone was doing that to me, too, but ten days! That's harsh. Did anything happen to the prince? Or did he get away with treating you like that just because he was royalty?" Raven didn't have any experience with royal families yet, but she kinda half expected to hear that they were above the rules. Whether or not that was actually true, she didn't know.

Lakhri shrugged. "He got away with it. Well, apart from the severe allergic shock he sustained, but he had no idea that was me, of course. The funny thing is, by the end of that mission I had learned to ignore him and take pride in it. I don't think I ever did something like that again."

"Force, I don't blame you," Raven replied, honestly trying to imagine that level of pissed off in Eeth, having not yet experienced an equal herself. Wanting to change the subject, and hoping to give him a little boost after having confided one of his more spectacular failures, she met him with a curious expression.

"Have you considered taking on a padawan before? Because, you're a pretty good teacher, and," she held up a finger to punctuate her words, "if you lose the spatula and switch, I can safely say you'd be perfect."

"Thanks," Lakhri said, surprised and a little touched. "As a matter of fact, I have considered it. But it all depends on whether the Force guides me to an initiate who would be a good match. It probably would be too much to hope for a near-perfect initiate who never requires discipline, though."

"You might get lucky," Raven replied, her expression showing nothing of the amusement she actually felt over his comment.

Lakhri yawned and stretched. "Shall we get going, then?" he asked. "The rest of your biology assignment is waiting… I know it's no fun, but it needs to be done."

"I don't mind biology. Although this much class work of ANY kind ought to be illegal," she said upon finding herself, yet again, lying on the floor staring at a datapad. The one saving grace was that her biology homework was not exactly taxing, and the two hours went by relatively fast, as such things went. Raven responded well to Lakhri's teaching style: he was strict enough to prevent her from walking all over him, yet had a sense of humour and appreciation for dry wit and irony that sat well with the girl and took the edge off most unpleasantries.

Two hours later, and after a little grumbling from Raven, and a mixture of sternness and encouragement on Lakhri's part, the rest of the homework was done and the two of them settled down for evening meditation. At that precise moment, the comm unit beeped.

"That must be Eeth," Lakhri said. "You get it." He grinned at Raven.

Raven didn't need telling twice. She was up off the couch and at their comm unit in a flash.

"Master!" she exclaimed, offering a formal bow as the small, blue holographic figure flickered to life. "You look tired, are you sure you're okay?" Raven asked, scrutinising his image as best she could. She was concerned. Then again, Eeth could take care of himself, Raven knew that.

"Padawan, I am fine," Eeth replied mildly, returning Raven's broad smile with a small one of his own. "I have nothing to do but wait for the rescue ship, write my mission report and catch up on sleep. The rescue ship is well on schedule and should pick me up in about five hours."

"Joy," Raven replied, thinking that waiting, sleeping and writing reports sounded rather horrifying. Then again, after what Eeth had just been through, it might not be such a bad thing. She looked at her boots for a split second, a telltale sign that she was feeling apprehensive, or perhaps guilty.

Noticing the trace of anxiety in Raven's features, Eeth said: "Padawan, I will not haul you to my cupboard the moment I enter the door. I am genuinely looking forward to seeing you. I know how worried you must have been when you did not hear from me. I was pleasantly surprised that you managed to find me through our bond."

In fact, he had spent a sizeable amount of his time on the space station trying to figure out a way to contact the Temple, but everything he could think of had been too risky. Thus, he had settled for meditating, reaching out towards Raven as much as he could, and hoping that she would somehow manage to sense him with Lakhri's help. He had not really counted on that happening, given the stress she must have been under at the time, and had been all the more pleased when he felt her Force presence touch his briefly. Among other things, it showed him how far she had come along in her training.

Relief flooded the girl as several issues causing her angst were promptly debunked: Eeth was looking forward to seeing her, and despite her numerous misdeeds, he was not planning to kill her over them. His mention of her success with focus had a slight grin forming, in spite of herself, so Raven decided to focus on that.

"I wouldn't have managed if Lakhri hadn't spent hours, and I really mean _HOURS,_ with me," she admitted, her gaze dropping for a split second; Raven didn't feel right about accepting praise for what wasn't really her doing, after all.

"I am glad to hear that Lakhri is such a skilled and devoted teacher," Eeth said with another little smile. "He has always been exceptionally good at Force work, just like you have a prowess for the physical aspects of your training. Apart from the episode last night, have things gone alright with the two of you?"

Lakhri, in the meanwhile, inconspicuously signalled to Eeth, from behind Raven's back to call him later when Raven was in bed in what he hoped was ingenious sign language. He really needed to catch the man on his own before he returned. Eeth took a moment to decipher the message. When he understood it, he gave Lakhri a slight nod.

Raven replied, glancing sideways. Lakhri might not be standing beside her but that didn't mean he wasn't within earshot. Anyway, lying to Eeth was an exercise in futility, even if her main reason for doing so was to spare him some additional stress. "Mostly," she decided on.

"Oh?" asked Eeth, perceptive as usual.

"Don't worry about it now, master," Lakhri said with a smile, stepping up beside Raven. "I handled it. Everything's alright."

Raven looked sideways at Lakhri, grateful for his intervention; she really didn't want to heap extra stress on Eeth right now.

"In that case," Eeth said calmly, "we need not talk about it any further. Did you manage to uphold your training and meditation schedule?"

"Of course. Lakhri was very masterly, like I said." She gave him a lopsided grin. "I really miss you, and I'm glad to see you're safe," Raven added. It had been too awkward to speak openly in front of the Council, but that was not the case with Lakhri present.

Eeth just nodded and gave her a small smile. As a matter of fact, he had been much less afraid for his own life than he had been concerned for his padawan, for whom the uncertainty about his safety must have been hard to bear. The possibility that he might not return to her had pained him. He had no idea how to express any of this, however, so he started asking her about her lessons instead. Finally, he told her that it was time for her to get ready for bed.

Understandably, Raven was not eager to comply. Still, she did so without argument as she really had been serious about not adding to his stress. So she left and went about her evening routine.

When Raven had been in bed for an hour and was fast asleep, Eeth commed Lakhri, as the knight had requested.

"Lakhri," he said in greeting. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes," said Lakhri and came straight to the point, as he knew that Eeth had no patience for small talk.

"I've enjoyed teaching Raven," he said. "She's a quick learner when she's motivated; I saw that when I was teaching her Force-enhanced running. But she's got issues with her self-confidence. I mean, I know that I had to discipline her twice and to a certain extent, it's normal for a padawan to feel guilty about messing up repeatedly. But Raven really clings to that frustration a little too much for my liking. And she seems to think she's stupid and possibly even a failure as a padawan. I know it's not my place to offer you advice, but I think unless you, I dunno, give her more reassurance, she might end up giving up on herself."

There was a long pause. Then Eeth said slowly: "I appreciate your advice. And you are right: what you just indicated can be dangerous. I will watch Raven more closely and think about what can be done about her self-confidence. Thank you very much for confiding in me."

"You're welcome," Lakhri replied. He had been unsure how Eeth would take his advice and was relieved that the older Jedi did not dismiss it. "He really has improved," he thought. "And he does have a soft spot for Raven, whether she believes it or not."

* * *

The complete story of Lakhri's adventure with the crown prince, the poisonous frogs and an unbelievably furious Eeth can be found on Livia Yoran's author profile under the title: "Revenge is Bittersweet." We recommend checking it out to anyone who would like to read the full story behind the mention in this chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

Another day had passed since Lakhri and Raven had last talked to Eeth. In the early hours of the morning, they had received confirmation that Eeth and his backup team had been picked up by the Temple ship and had left for Coruscant. Their estimated travel time was about twenty-four hours; Eeth would probably be back at the Temple before it was time for Raven and Lakhri to get up in the morning.

Today, although she was excited that Eeth would return to the Temple tomorrow, had been long and boring for Raven. Lakhri had helped organise her time so that she was able to fit everything in, but there really was quite a bit to fit in now thanks to the community service! Raven had agreed to forfeit her evenings at the padawans' lounge if necessary. This meant that she got five hours out of the way during the week and could retain some of her weekend. Sixty hours was a lot for a junior padawan with an already full schedule. Oh well, it was what it was. Raven couldn't change the fact that she had tried to sneak her way into the rescue mission, only learn from the consequences, or so Lakhri had said when she had griped about it.

Despite being unhappy about her punishment, Raven enjoyed the lessons on Force-enhanced speed with Lakhri. And apparently, she had also improved, so much so that Lakhri proposed to move their next lesson to a different gym that would allow her to change directions. It gave her something to look forward to – in addition to Eeth's return, of course.

"Are you looking forward to getting your master back?" Lakhri asked Raven when he tucked her in that night.

"Absolutely!" she exclaimed as Lakhri gave the coverlet a quick shake and let it slowly balloon down onto her.

"I know you have to teach your own classes and all, but do you think we could keep up the Force-enhanced speed? I'll work hard on the focus stuff, promise." In truth, Raven hoped he would consider allowing a session or two a week when Eeth returned.

"You have worked plenty hard enough already," Lakhri said cheerfully. "I'll ask Eeth about the training sessions, but I don't think he'll refuse. After all, he is on Council duty often enough, so he might actually be happy for me to replace him occasionally. Besides, he has always been quite open-minded about training sessions with other knights or masters when I was his padawan. He considered it valuable experience to learn from different people."

Lakhri turned in an hour after Raven. He decided to sleep on the couch, in case Eeth returned early enough to sleep for another hour or two. He also hoped that this way, he would not miss out on Eeth's arrival.

Eeth's ship landed at four thirty in the morning but as soon as he descended the ramp, he was carted off to an emergency Council meeting on the Antar war. He was finally able to head for his quarters around six. Having silently stepped through the door, he spotted a sleeping Lakhri on the couch and tiptoed past him to Raven's bedroom.

"Good morning, padawan," he said like he had done on countless mornings, shaking her shoulder gently. "Time to rise. Up you get!"

For the first time since becoming Eeth's apprentice, Raven did not complain about being woken up at six in the morning.

"Master! You're back!" she practically squealed, and threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay!" she whispered.

Raven was aware of Eeth's awkwardness when it came to such displays of affection, but she was being selfish; she had thought him dead, after all! The padawan wiped at her eyes with her sleepshirt, not lessening the death grip she had on him just yet. Raven wasn't usually such a crybaby, yet the joy at seeing Eeth alive was overwhelming, and she couldn't help the tears of relief.

Registering Raven's need, Eeth embraced her in a hug of his own. "Of course I am alright," he said gently. "And I am just as glad to be back with you. I am very sorry to have caused you such worry. It was not my intention, and I sincerely regret that I could not avoid it."

Raven had not really expected Eeth to return the hug, and it was accepted gratefully.

"I know. Of course I don't blame you for it; there was nothing you could do about it. I hope the Council are going to let you rest. I mean, you could always tell them you have bird pox and sleep for the day or something," Raven, ever the one to have an excuse locked and loaded, suggested through a grin. It was at that moment she glanced towards the door, wondering why Lakhri had not come running at her squealing. Maybe she had worn him out? A pang of guilt at all the trouble she had caused in Eeth's absence surged through for a moment, but it was quickly replaced with relief once again: Eeth was home!

"Thank you, padawan," Eeth said, giving her a severe look, "but I do not need any rest. I rested more than enough on the return trip. The Council will discuss the Antar crisis all morning, in preparation of the Senate hearing tomorrow. Which is just as well, as you will be in classes, of course." He sent her a quick burst of affection through their bond before loosening the hug, because this was as much of a cuddly welcome scene as he could possibly bear.

Raven was about to ask him to reconsider when Lakhri spoke up, keeping her silent for the moment.

"Awww, Eeth!" came Lakhri's voice from the common room, half amused, half exasperated. "I don't believe you!"

"There is no reason to 'aww Eeth' me, young man," replied Eeth, but it did not sound particularly stern and possibly even slightly amused. "Take a shower and get dressed, padawan. I will organise some breakfast in the meantime."

"Alright then, if you insist," Raven acquiesced. It was very unusual for her to give up without at least a token protest, but the truth was she really didn't want to get on his nerves before he'd spent more than two minutes with her. Besides, their banter made her smile.

Twenty minutes later, Raven entered their common room, hair slightly damp as was typical for her. She could hear muffled sounds of conversation coming from the kitchen and wanted to give Lakhri some time to talk to Eeth privately. After all, he had offered her this same courtesy many times. It was only fair. The girl waved her palm over the sensor by their window, causing the glass to revert from opaque and allow the outside light to enter. The sun was above the horizon and shone in on the small patch of carpet where she had placed her meditation mat. Today, Raven wanted to get everything right, starting with completing her chores and meditation without being prompted.

Eeth heard Raven enter the common room and excused himself to Lakhri who promised to finish preparing breakfast. Finding Raven at the window, next to her meditation mat, Eeth quietly stepped up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Would you like me to do your braid for you before morning meditation?" he asked.

Raven smiled. "Yeah, I would." Eeth didn't do this often, and she suspected it was his way of showing her that he had indeed missed her, too.

"We will meditate together," Eeth said as he started straightening out the long strand of hair behind Raven's ear. "I am very pleased that you managed to find me through our bond, padawan. It shows me that your ability to keep up your focus has much improved. Only a little more time and effort, and you will be able to build your own lightsaber."

What Eeth just said was almost too much to hold in! And Raven's expression said just that; she was about to explode.

" – But that does not mean you should start nagging me about it!" Eeth added upon seeing her expression – and for good reason. In the beginning of her apprenticeship, Raven had frequently asked him when she would finally be allowed to build her own lightsaber. His standard answer had been something along the lines of "As soon as you have gained sufficient patience to wait until your time has come", and eventually, she had stopped asking. Eeth just hoped he had not given her a new source of impatience right now.

"No, master. I won't nag you, really!" Raven said, trying to sound sincere while at the same time attempting to reign in the overwhelming urge to jump around their common room like a loon! Very undignified, and totally not the sort of behaviour that Eeth would expect from a padawan who was disciplined enough to construct their own lightsaber, Raven thought.

When her braid was done, Eeth knelt down opposite Raven. He was fully aware that they would need to talk about the less than ideal aspects of her behaviour during his absence, and he was sure that Raven knew this, too. A great many additional meditations would arise from this talk. But he really did not want to spoil the first hour after his return with this, especially in light of what Lakhri had told him. He was a dutiful master, and he wanted to do his duty by his padawan in every regard, emotional needs included. Unfortunately, emotional needs were the one aspect of raising a padawan that he felt decidedly insecure about. He was glad to have Lakhri to talk to, now that the man had returned from his mission. Lakhri knew Eeth's shortcomings, but he also liked and respected him, which made it easier for Eeth to be open with him than it would have been with others.

"Just link with me and focus on our bond, padawan," Eeth said quietly. Once Raven had complied, he lowered his shields and opened up towards her, projecting a number of things through their bond that he would have found impossible to express in words. Affection and pride in her accomplishments came first. He also did not spare her the exasperation he felt at her difficulties with the concept of obedience. However, it was no more than exasperation; it was neither anger nor deep disappointment. Above all, there was an iron determination to guide her along the path to knighthood, coupled with confidence in her ability to complete this path.

Raven took a lot out of that meditation, both positive and negative. Yet, when Eeth called their meditation to an end, Raven chose to focus on the positives.

"You're proud of me? Does that mean you're not going to kill me, then?" she hedged. He had expressed disapproval, too, so it was unlikely, but she had to ask.

"You have made a lot of progress in the past months," Eeth replied slowly, carefully weighing his words. "Why would I not be proud of that? And since when do Jedi Masters kill their padawans for misbehavior? However, if you meant by your question whether the amount of pride I have in your achievements will have an impact on the severity of the punishment you are going to receive for trying to sneak aboard a rescue ship against explicit orders, and after I had told you in no uncertain terms to stay at the Temple, then the answer is most certainly 'no'. I intend to see you to knighthood, and I mean it. And that includes disciplining you for misbehavior. Every padawan has issues he or she is struggling with, and obedience is definitely among yours. If obedience does not come easily to you, I will have to strongly discourage you from disobeying your orders because anything else would set you back on your way to your goal. Your mission eligibility has already been suspended, and I do not want that to happen again."

Raven's face fell at this, but Eeth ignored it for the moment and continued, "Therefore, yes, I am going to discipline you. But we will talk about this more in the afternoon, after your lessons and the Council session I have to attend. I really want you to understand why I cannot allow such a thing to happen again. That said, I am not angry with you, padawan. Your motives for coming to my rescue were understandable, and the sentiment behind them was commendable. I am going to punish you because I want you to learn, not because I am annoyed or disappointed. Do you understand the difference?"

She understood the difference. In fact, she had understood it all, but that didn't mean she had to like the consequences. Raven did not. That said, if she was completely honest with herself, which Raven always tried to be, she felt secure in the knowledge that Eeth wouldn't let her get away with things. Yes, she had enjoyed the break with Lakhri, but ultimately, Raven felt that with Eeth's return, her path was once again aligned with the Will of the Force.

With this in mind, Raven nodded an understanding and did her best to put what was sure to be a completely horrifying afternoon out of her mind.

"I'll go do my chores," she told him, hoping to earn some brownie points for initiative. Yeah, like that had ever worked before. Still, Raven put a little extra attention into the tasks this morning. She gave her boots a quick clean, brushed out any wrinkles from her tunic, straightened her hair and went to find Eeth and Lakhri.

"Oh, master, I didn't get to tell you about She'am's class yet! Finally, he stopped teasing us with the hangar bay and took us all off-planet! And, I didn't even get shot," Raven said, having skidded into the dining room on her socks.

"That is good to hear," Eeth said with a tiny smile. "So you did learn something. Where did you go?"

"Asret," she replied, taking a sip of water, "and it was awesome!" It was then that Raven recalled the aftermath of said class, and her face flushed guiltily.

"But?" Eeth asked pointedly.

"Uh, nothing." Raven coughed once. She was pretty sure that Lakhri hadn't had an opportunity to tell Eeth that she had taken advantage of his absence and gone to a diner with her class – a diner that she had known would be off-limits, but went anyway. Despite Lakhri having dealt with it, Raven still felt a bit guilty over that as she tended to hang on to such things.

Lakhri raised his eyebrows. "'Nothing' is not what happened," he said. "And I think Eeth needs to know."

Resigned, Raven sat down to join them at the table. She doubted that claiming she was too hungry to talk and stuffing herself would fly. Thus, she admitted, "I might have interpreted Lakhri's instructions to suit and gone to West's diner with the others after She'am's class that day." It might have only been a thirty-minute shuttle ride, and West's wasn't nearly as seedy as Eldora's markets, but then, Lakhri had made sure that she knew that this wasn't the point.

"And she returned home on her own, late," said Lakhri. "And I punished her accordingly."

"Meaning?" Eeth asked, giving Raven a disapproving look.

"Let's just say that Lakhri has a tin of bacta hidden somewhere around here that would come in very handy," she said, grinning at the knight. "Not that he'd let me have it. Spoilsport."

"Of course I would not let you have it," Lakhri said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I am glad to hear that Lakhri learned something as well," Eeth said with perfect calm.

"Haha," said Lakhri. "Raven, you'd better run for your classes. He's trying to be humorous."

"There is nothing humorous about it," Eeth said severely. "Did Lakhri also tell you why self-treatment is forbidden?"

"'Course he did," Raven replied and grinned despite the condemning topic. Eeth's flat responses never failed to make it all the more entertaining. Still, she thought it was better to err on the side of caution here and give a complete answer lest Eeth decide to make her write an essay on it.

"It's because when it's used by someone inexperienced, it can conceal surface damage. This is dangerous because it can lead to any underlying injuries going unnoticed, and therefore, untreated." This was the lesson the padawan had taken from Lakhri's sprained-wrist analogy the day she had asked for the tin. That said, she knew of another reason why self-healing might not be acceptable in the particular way in which she was planning to use it, but she was too embarrassed to admit that the pain from a spanking wasn't something she was supposed to control.

Eeth raised his eyebrows at this unusually compliant and insightful response, which obviously went back to Lakhri's explanations. He had not actually expected Raven to talk about the prohibition on self-healing after a punishment. That was self-understood, in his opinion, and he had already made that clear several times.

"Exactly," he replied approvingly. Taking a sip of tea, he remarked: "It really is good to be back. My mission in the Antar system was doomed to fail from the beginning, not that I knew it at the time."

"So, what exactly happened?" Lakhri asked. "How did you get stuck there?"

By the time Eeth had finished recounting a rough outline of what had happened, it was high time for Raven to get to classes and for Eeth to join the Council.

"Lakhri, I cannot thank you enough for taking care of Raven while I was gone," Eeth said, clasping the considerably smaller man's shoulder briefly in a friendly gesture. "Do try to get some rest now."

Lakhri shrugged and grinned. "As much rest as I'm going to get with the classes I have to teach," he said. "We should meet more often, though. Maybe I could also continue teaching Raven Force control techniques. We've been working on Force-enhanced running, and she's going strong. And don't worry, I did not forget to set some rules."

He winked at Raven.

"Certainly," Eeth replied. "Would you like to continue studying with Lakhri, Raven? I will not add more lessons to your workload this term, but maybe Lakhri could step in as a teacher in place of one of our afternoon training sessions. I think the experience would be good for you, and you have a lot to learn from Lakhri."

Waiting patiently for her chance to thank the man, Raven hopped from foot to foot as they talked. When the conversation turned to continuing their lessons on Force-enhanced speed, the padawan grinned widely.

"Yes, master, I would," she replied. Lakhri was awesome at Force-enhanced speed and she wanted to keep that up if at all possible.

Eeth inclined his head. "I will make arrangements, then," he said.

Raven gave him smile that was all teeth, and then she hugged Lakhri.

"Thank you for taking care of me. You'll come around again soon though, right? Or maybe we can come and see you?" she suggested, hugging him tightly. Having sincerely enjoyed the man's company, Raven was going to miss their banter, and she hoped he would find a padawan to train so he would be around the Temple for a while longer.

"Sure," Lakhri said, returning the hug. "It was a pleasure to teach you, Raven. I'll enjoy working with you on Force-enhanced running and other stuff. And I'll be sure to invite myself over to dinner soon. It'll be lonely in my quarters."

For today and maybe tomorrow, he might enjoy the solitude, though, he thought; and for the day or two after that, he might benefit from the opportunity to catch up with some of his friends. One of them had recently taken on a padawan, he had heard, and he was interested in hearing how things were going with the two of them. But since he was by nature a sociable person, he was going to be fed up with his solitary quarters soon, which would mean that he would haunt Eeth and Raven in theirs!

A minute later, Lakhri headed for his apartment with his bag of belongings, having one hour left to prepare for his first lesson of the day. Eeth and Raven made their way to the turbolifts where they parted.

"Come back right after classes, please," Eeth instructed Raven. "I will take care of lunch."

"Yes, master," she replied and, after offering a curt bow, took off for her first class.

Of course his instructions to return directly home after classes had not gone unnoticed; Eeth didn't often request that of her unless she was in some sort of trouble or they were going somewhere. The girl sighed as she rounded the corner that would lead to her first class; maybe they were going somewhere, after all, and he had let the last week slide? Yeah… Unlikely.

When Raven returned to their quarters that afternoon, she was not surprised to find Eeth home, not to mention the smell of something amazing. After tossing her cloak onto the rack by their door and sitting to pull off her boots, Raven stuck her head around the wall that sectioned off their kitchen to find Eeth pulling what looked like a vegetable casserole from their cooker. "Master," she greeted him, stepping in to full view and offering a bow in greeting.

"Padawan," said Eeth, giving her a brief smile as he placed the casserole onto a table mat. He had returned from the Council meeting an hour and a half ago and had decided to do some grocery shopping and cook a meal that both Raven and he enjoyed. He liked cooking, especially when he had a lot of things to process mentally.

"Wash your hands and sit down," he told Raven. He had already set the table; lunch was ready.

Raven skidded on her socks to their kitchen sink and washed her hands. Then there was not much else to do other than sit.

"How was the Council meeting?" the padawan asked when Eeth came to join her at the table.

"Productive," said Eeth drily, handing her the spoon so she could serve herself.

"Oh," Raven replied, taking the spoon and trying to sound nonchalant but failing. "So, they didn't say anything to you about, well, you know … me and the whole probation thing?"

"No, they did not," Eeth replied. "We had more pressing matters to talk about; imposing discipline on unruly padawans is not that unusual and does not warrant much discussion, after all. The Council had to decide whether to recommend military intervention in the Antar crisis to the Senate tomorrow and whether the Jedi will be involved if such intervention takes place."

Raven was relieved to hear she had not rated a mention. She piled a small amount of casserole onto her plate and unconsciously began to swing her foot under the table.

"Hey, unruly is a bit unfair," she commented through a mouthful of casserole, but it was a token protest at best.

Eeth raised his eyebrows. "How is it unfair to call a padawan 'unruly' who disobeyed her clear and direct orders?" he inquired pointedly.

"Because it makes me sound like some sort of uncontrolled savage," she said, giving him a mock-hurt look.

"You are not a savage," said Eeth matter-of-factly, "but you do lack self-control. Which all of us – the Council, Lakhri and myself – are trying to help you acquire."

There wasn't a lot Raven could say to that, other than the fact that she wished they had more pleasant methods of doing so. Well, it was what it was, and so the padawan reverted to their last topic.

"Do you think the Council will suggest military intervention on Antar? I mean, do you think it can be saved?" Because after hearing Lakhri's stories about his last mission, Raven wasn't sure that every system was worth saving, or could be saved.

"I am not sure the situation can be salvaged, at this point," Eeth said. "Antar III seems determined to go to war. There is little we can do to stop them, at least from among the options that will be likely to gain the Senate's consent. We might be able to protect Antar IV's neutrality, though, and I think that would be a worthwhile cause."

Raven nodded in both agreement and understanding. She felt sorry for Antar IV; they were kind of stuck in the middle and given the mess that had escalated, it probably felt like no peaceful resolution would be forthcoming any time soon.

When Raven had no more questions to ask and had fallen silent, Eeth told her, "After lunch, do your homework straight away. When you are done, we will need to talk about your ill-advised attempt to come to my rescue."

"Must we?" came the predictable response. However, a stern look from Eeth was all it took to quash further protests.

Two and a half hours later, Raven was finally finished with her work, but she didn't want to face what was sure to be one of the more horrifying moments in her short life. Shuddering at the thought, she opened her pad once again and went over her maths for the third time. Yeah, going over maths three times was all-telling; Raven did not want to go out there, but neither could she stay in here forever! Or could she? The padawan crouched low, crawled to her open door and stuck her head around to find Eeth seated at their dining room table, reading. He was always reading something.

Of course, reading made Eeth neither deaf nor Force-blind. He looked up from the report he had received from the Ambassador of Antar I just in time to see Raven's head disappear from view and said, "Are you done with your homework?"

Raven froze. If she didn't answer, would he go away? Unlikely, very unlikely. Therefore, the padawan answered, "Yes, master." But she remained seated on her bedroom floor. Why? Abso-freaking-lutely no clue. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Then come here and sit down," Eeth said, firmly pointing a finger at the chair opposite him.

Sighing, the padawan stood and dragged her feet towards their dining room table. She was pretty sure that anything less at this point would end painfully.

When she had complied, Eeth said, "Alright. First, I would like to hear, from your point of view, what you did and why you did it."

"Well," she said, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. "When the Council said you were missing, I requested permission to go with the rescue teams to help find you, by using our training bond. They did concede that I could be useful, but refused to send me because it was too dangerous, and I didn't have enough experience. I didn't talk back to the Council, master," Raven stated quickly, hoping it would earn her a small measure of reprieve. "But I did tell Lakhri about how I believed your life is worth as much as mine, and the Council were being unreasonable by choosing not to send me. I told him that I had to go and try to help, but he agreed with the Council and ordered me not to."

Raven was beginning to fidget uncomfortably at having to confess to all of this in person. Her master was far less intimidating as a holo projection!

"Lin and her master were chosen as one of the rescue teams, so, I told Lakhri a heap of lies, got the information regarding the rescue mission from Lin, and tried to sneak aboard," she admitted, glancing up to meet his gaze. "I felt I had to try, but I know that it was wrong. I'm sorry."

"Hmm," Eeth said neutrally. He appreciated Raven's honesty but, as usual, she had failed to see any but her own perspective on the issue. He was curious to see whether this was still the case.

"I assume that by now, you have noticed that all the adults around you disagree with your decision," he said. "Do you have any idea why that is the case?"

"Well, yes. Possibly because it wasn't their master who was stuck in the middle of a warring system, presumed dead," she replied evenly. Raven didn't really believe this was the only answer to his question, but she was feeling a little frustrated, and perhaps guilty; Lakhri and the Council had already dragged her ass over the coals for this, after all.

That was not the answer Eeth had been looking for, and it showed in the glare he directed at Raven.

"So you think that the reason the Council and Lakhri were displeased with you is that they did not care for my life as much as you did?" he asked coolly, drawing a frown from Raven.

"If that is truly the only answer you are able to come up with, then you need to do some more thinking."

He pointed at her meditation mat. "Half an hour of meditation. I will ask you the same question again when you are done, and I expect a satisfactory answer from you."

"Wait," Raven began to protest, but stopped upon seeing his expression. She wasn't happy about this, yet saw little other option here.

Eeth was not willing to even start talking about the disciplinary consequences of Raven's actions before she had made a real effort to see why she might have made the wrong decision, instead of defending her disobedience. However, if the assigned meditation did not help, he was prepared to use more unpleasant means to make her see sense. Even if she did not share the Council's, Lakhri's and his own assessment of the situation, she ought, by now, to have understood it, at least.

Raven knelt on her meditation mat. Surprisingly, it came easier than it usually did, something for which Raven was thankful right now. She thought about everything that happened, and Eeth was right, she did not agree with their reasons, even if she knew that her consent was not required in such matters.

When half an hour was up, Eeth told her to stop and rejoin him at the table. The padawan took a calming breath and tried again.

"They disagreed with me because I am too inexperienced and could have gotten other people hurt by going, and because it was dangerous, and I might have been killed," she stated, praying to anything that would listen that he wouldn't make her do any more meditation.

"That is closer to the truth, although not as elaborate as it could have been," Eeth said curtly. "And how do you feel about their reasoning now?"

"I still don't agree, but…" Raven frowned and kicked at the chair leg nervously with her foot. "I know I have to obey orders, and not just yours, but everyone's who is in charge of me. So I guess it doesn't matter if I agree or not." It had been an honest answer. As much as Raven was hating this conversation, she was at least trying to answer as best she could.

"That is correct," Eeth agreed. "There is more to it than this, however. Padawan, have you ever thought about the Jedi philosophy of non-attachment and its reasons?"

"I guess… We are advised not to create attachments to material or personal things, because it brings about fear of losing them, and fear leads to the Dark Side."

"That is what you have been taught," Eeth agreed. "But the reality is more complex than that and I assume this is the first time that you have been exposed to it. None of us can help create attachments. It is next to impossible to raise a padawan without feeling attached to that person. The problem begins when we let these feelings rule us. I believe that the fear of losing me has clouded your judgment while older, more experienced Jedi were better able to separate between their emotions and their duty. Or do you honestly think that Lakhri, for example, has no interest in keeping me alive? That this was what made him advise against giving you permission to join the rescue team?"

"Of course not," replied Raven, feeling a tad defensive. "Lakhri spent hours with me trying to help find you, literally hours. He was very concerned about keeping you alive, we all were. – I guess I was afraid for you, afraid that you wouldn't come back. I didn't want them to risk leaving me behind because I was going to be able to sense you the best."

Raven wrinkled her nose, knowing how this next part was going to be received. "I didn't care what that meant to me or the others, as long as you got back safe."

"The risk to your life was too high," Eeth stated with absolute certainty. "All Republican ships are under risk of being attacked in the sector, padawan. What if the ship had been forced to crash-land, possibly even with damages to the engines? The experienced Jedi sent to retrieve me know how to get by, even in a hostile environment. You do not. Without impeccable defenses, the ability to use the Force in order to conceal yourself and proficiency in Force-enhanced running and other techniques, nobody in his right mind would ever risk you being exposed to such a situation. And that is not only because it would have meant endangering your life. It is also because the presence of an inexperienced padawan might have prevented the rescue teams from doing what is necessary in order to rescue me. That is why the Council did not want you to go."

"I didn't think about it like that at the time." And Raven hadn't, not really. She had just wanted to save Eeth at any cost, which was certainly not the way someone aspiring to become a Jedi was supposed to act. Raven knew that, which was why she was having trouble keeping Eeth's gaze now.

"Exactly," Eeth said. "You did not think. Nor did you trust the Council and Lakhri to have thought things through, or you would not have dismissed their judgment so easily. The fact that you risked your life is not the issue here, although you seem to be under the impression that it is. All Jedi accept danger to their lives when they choose this path. However, we do not risk our lives pointlessly. We need to apply good judgment on whether the potential gain is worth the risk, and in this case, it was not. You would have realised that if you had not allowed your feelings to cloud your judgment; or at the very least, you could have asked Lakhri or even the Council to explain better instead of rushing into things behind their backs."

Raven remained silent for an uncharacteristically long time because, by now, the padawan was feeling just about as dreadful as humanly possible, and just wished the floor would suddenly break open and swallow her. That mental picture whizzed through her mind, distracting her for a split second before she glanced up.

"I'm sorry, master, I didn't trust their judgement, and I should have," she confessed, honestly finding it hard to wrap her head around the massive pile of things she had done wrong. Had Lakhri and the Council really told her all of that? Or was it simply the fact that Eeth had a certain way of making her listen?

Lakhri had, in fact, thought about addressing the non-attachment issue, but had decided against it because he had the impression that this needed to be brought up by the girl's master to have any effect.

Eeth, for his part, sensed real understanding in Raven, and his expression softened considerably. "Yes, you should have," he said much more kindly than before, "and I am glad you understand that now. I am aware that this is a hard lesson to learn, and I do not expect perfection from you. I do, however, expect you to give your best effort at controlling your emotions and thinking before you act. If you feel that meeting my expectations in this regard is beyond you, you are to seek help. Lakhri could have explained things to you if you had asked, and he could have helped you to release your emotions into the Force in order to see things more clearly. The next time temptation arises, I want you to stop and think. Twice, three times or ten times if necessary. Am I clear on that?"

"Yes, master, clear," Raven practically whispered, her pitiful gaze locked firmly on her swinging feet. She understood why it was wrong, and what he was asking of her, but Eeth had taught her similar lessons before, and yet she still messed it up. At this moment, the padawan felt as though she embodied everything the Jedi Order strove to avoid: her emotions sparked a fear, which would drive the passion and lead to, well ... A ticked-off master and Council, exasperated Lakhri, endangered lives and quite possibly the bleakest few months of her life to look forward to. All this was not even taking into consideration the fact that Eeth was going to hand her her ass for what would make it the THIRD time in one week!

Feeling utterly miserable, Raven swallowed and made an effort to follow his guidance. Eeth had said on many occasions that by releasing her emotions into the Force, she would see things more clearly. This was the very thing she had failed to to the two times she had really messed things up. So, bearing this in mind, the padawan decided to try it before the spiral of self-pity landed her in yet more trouble— not that the girl could imagine anything being worse than the clusterfuck she was currently in! Taking a deep breath, Raven closed her eyes for a moment and attempted to release her feelings into the Force.

Eeth gave Raven a few minutes to deal with her emotions. Then he stood up silently, stepped up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"That was very well done," he said quietly. "I know it does not seem like it at the moment, but you are making much progress. And I am confident that you will learn from this. Much older padawans than you, including myself, have made the same mistake as you and still made it to knighthood. Even a few weeks ago, you would not have handled this half as well as you did just now."

Coming from Eeth, this was extravagant praise, and the padawan couldn't hide the grin that crept forth at hearing it.

"Thank you, master," she replied, attempting, with some success, to accept the praise humbly. For once, she had managed to get it right! Now, if that sort of logic could be applied everywhere. Yeah, if it were only that easy. Raven looked over her shoulder and up at Eeth, only to drop her gaze again to focus on the table. He wasn't angry or anything – Eeth rarely, if ever, was – but she could sense that this conversation was far from over.

Eeth gently turned Raven's head around and tilted her chin upwards with a finger until she met his gaze.

"You are welcome," he replied softly. "Now, as happy as I am with the insights you have found today and with your efforts at handling your emotions in an appropriate way, we both know you will have to be punished for your disobedience. This punishment, however, is not meant to show you that you are a failure and a disappointment. It is a way to make amends and clean the slate. When it is over, you can stop dwelling on the poor choices you made and concentrate on learning to do better in the future. And I am confident that you will."

With this, he sat back down on a chair.

"Please take your pants down and get over my knee," he said in perfect calm.

Surprisingly, being forced to meet Eeth's gaze was not at all uncomfortable. In fact, Raven found herself softening despite his words and the fact that she had punishment coming. Still, the padawan had expected a stinging lecture and instructions to fetch something dreadful from his cupboard. That he had not done was also surprising. Reluctantly, Raven stood, pulled her trousers and underpants to her knees, and groaned. Of course she didn't want this! It was really gonna hurt and it was humiliating, but arguing or trying to get out of it had never ended well. Resigned, Raven gave one last huff and lay herself across his lap. This wasn't at all uncomfortable, at least it wasn't yet. It was just, well, undignified!

Eeth tilted Raven's torso a little forward so that her bottom was positioned perfectly over his knee. Then he pulled the paddle from his belt and started swatting her at a moderate pace and with medium force.

"Tell me what you are being punished for, padawan," he ordered.

"Ah-sheez," Raven hissed as he landed the first few. However, that reaction was more a reflexive response than a sign of any real distress on her part. This wasn't nearly the worst. Force, Eeth was capable of putting a lot more hurt into it if he wanted to, she knew. That didn't mean that it was painless, it was far from painless! It just did not create the feeling of urgency she was accustomed to.

"Because I disobeyed Lakhri, yours and the Council's orders, and tried to interfere with a critical mission," she answered, her face heating at being lectured and spanked at the same time.

"That is correct," Eeth replied, not letting up on her for a moment, but taking care not to make the swats too hard lest she become incapable of understanding his questions. "What about my own orders? I seem to remember we had a conversation on your idea of coming to my rescue during one of our comm calls."

"You ordered me to stay at the Temple and not to do anything reckless," Raven replied, squinting as another few landed. She wasn't happy about this. It was making her feel even guiltier, more ashamed of what she had done … Raven hadn't known that was possible, but apparently, Eeth did.

"That is correct," Eeth said relentlessly while continuing to paddle Raven's bottom. "Instead of obeying my orders, you followed your impulses. That is why you are being punished."

He decided to end the interrogation at this point and to concentrate on spanking Raven's bottom quite thoroughly, covering every inch of it, and a good part of her upper thighs, with spanks that were still not overly hard but presumably had more than enough sting.

Raven knew why she was being punished, and although she could tell that Eeth was not truly giving her what for, it still hurt. Biting down on her lip in an effort to keep from crying out, she did her best to stay still, but when a few landed on her thighs, Raven couldn't help but yelp.

"Master, please. I'm sorry!" she whined.

Eeth did not think she had reached the state of mind he wanted her to reach yet. He continued to spank and spank, paddling Raven's bottom systematically and trusting the sting to keep building up without reprieve. If this relieved Raven of some of her feelings of guilt, that would be all for the better.

Raven begged, kicked and wriggled all to no avail. Eeth wasn't letting up until Raven was feeling desperately sorry for everything that she had done wrong since Eeth had left her in Lakhri's care. Everything! From the stupid detention in class, sneaking out, and finally to the worst of it: disobeying orders to leave the Temple. Her head hung as the combination of guilt and pain reached unbearable, and she let out a sob. At first just the one, but after another dozen or so, she was sobbing in earnest.

Eeth decided to make sure that Raven surrendered to this punishment and let go of all semblance of self-control. He thus gave her a further two dozen swats, slowly and at rather moderate strength. When that was accomplished, he put the paddle back into its place on his utility belt and let his hand rest on Raven's back.

"This part is over, padawan," he said quietly.

Swiping at her face with a sleeve, the padawan squirmed; she needed to stop crying! Honestly, what was she, five?

"This, p-part?" Raven repeated, a sob catching in her throat briefly as she tried not to think of what that actually meant for her. Lakhri had warned her that Eeth might resort to more serious measures, but at the time the man had just finished setting her ass on fire, and she hadn't exactly been thinking straight.

Eeth always used the cane for serious cases of disobedience. And that was ALWAYS. In capital letters. Today was not going to be an exception. That said, he was not planning on being particularly harsh. After all, Raven had already been punished both by Lakhri and by the Council, and he trusted that she had understood why what she had done was wrong.

Helping Raven stand between his legs, he let her cry herself out with her head on his shoulder, her tunic falling down to cover her bottom.

Eeth might not be the warm and cuddly type of master, but there were certain times when Raven noticed that he was really making an effort to support her, even though it had been him causing her distress right now. The fact that he had shown a little affection when it was needed most meant a world more to the padawan than any amount of unnecessary coddling or words ever could.

After a minute or so, she reluctantly lifted her head from his shoulder to meet his gaze.

"I'm sorry, master. Really, I am. I won't do it again, I promise," she said. Her tone held a hint of plea to it. Why? Because Raven was hoping that his unexpected offer of support just now was the next part he had been speaking of!

"Apology accepted, padawan," Eeth said softly, offering her a handkerchief to dry her face. "Now, we are not quite done here. Yours was a serious offense, and a mere paddling will not do. Please go to my cupboard and fetch me the cane. Then bend over a chair."

"Aw…" Raven complained, but the protest lacked heart. She didn't believe his choice at all undeserved; it totally was. It was just that it hurt so much!

Resigned, she nodded, hiked up her trousers and went to do as he had said. Of course, given that she was still just twelve years old, she took some extra time to stall while the cupboard door was open. After all, who in their right mind would want to rush what was about to go down?!

"Stop dawdling," said Eeth firmly, "or I will add strokes to the count." The count he had in mind was not particularly high but Raven did not need to know that!

This had Raven's attention, and the cupboard door slammed shut with an accidentally loud bang before he had finished his sentence. She did absolutely not want anything added to this. Thus, any further stalling tactics were abandoned as she pulled out a chair from their dining room table, handed him the cane, and bent over whilst trying to tug down her trousers and underpants with her free hand. It was somewhat successful.

Eeth laid the cane onto the table, turned up her tunic and pulled her trousers and underpants further down, causing his padawan to grip the chair harder. He then picked up the cane again and brought it down onto her bottom three times in quick succession, with moderate force.

Okay, so the first lick was always the worst, Raven told herself as tears immediately sprang to her eyes. The second landed far too quickly for her liking, and by the third she let out a loud yelp that was as much from surprise as from pain. Usually, the strokes were spaced so that just as the pain from the first one registered, the next landed making it unbearable and leaving her in a world of hurt. This was a lot faster, and it didn't seem as though he was caning right through her this time.

Eeth laid the cane back down on the table and briefly patted Raven's back.

"You may get up, padawan," he said quietly.

When the sound of the cane being placed on their table registered, the padawan risked a glance over her shoulder just to make sure she hadn't somehow willed herself into having a hallucination.

"I can get up?" she asked, thinking for a moment that either he had gone mad or she had.

"You may," Eeth said drily. "Considering that you have already been punished by the Council and Lakhri, I really think that you have had enough."

"I have, really!" Raven said earnestly, springing to her feet and turning to face him. "Lakhri really whaled on me," she reminded him, careful to omit why her Jedi brother had been so harsh. Quickly, the padawan yanked up her trousers and slid the chair back into the table, one hand still massaging her left butt cheek. She could feel three distinct welts through her trousers, but again, they weren't nearly as raised or painful as she had experienced in the past.

Eeth was aware of the punishment Lakhri had doled out, of course. "I am sure you did not expect to get away with this unpunished when you made the ill-advised decision to disobey the Council's orders," he remarked. "Now, while I consider the matter closed, I think some additional meditation on the philosophy of non-attachment and mastering your emotions is in order. For the duration of your suspension, you will extend our morning and our evening meditations by a quarter of an hour each in order to meditate on these issues. I will try to join you for as many of these meditations as possible. This is not meant as punishment, but rather to help you not to succumb to temptation, should it arise again."

"But that's three months of extra meditations on top of EVERYthing else," Raven said, a piteous expression on her face. She was trying to hide the fact that she might be feeling a bit sorry for herself over this, but failing.

Eeth raised his eyebrows.

"It is," he said. "It is also an opportunity for you to improve. Do you or do you not want to make progress in order to reach your goal of regaining your mission eligibility and, eventually, make it to knighthood? If you need additional meditation in order to reach that goal, I will provide it for you, just as I would provide additional sparring lessons if they were necessary. So, these meditations are not meant as punishment. If you insist on seeing them as such, you might not gain from them as much as you could."

"But it's an exercise in futility. At this rate I'm never going to reach knighthood, let alone get to go on another mission." She threw her hands up in exasperation. "I only just got my mission clearance, and they freakin' took it off of me, and locked me up in the Temple." Raven was not whining, per se, but she was feeling rather sorry for herself.

Eeth's eyebrows rose even higher. "Excuse me?" he said icily. "I do not think I have heard you correctly. What was that about not reaching knighthood?"

Eeth's expression and tone were noted, and Raven unknowingly stepped behind a chair, effectively putting it between them while trying to look casual about it all. She was certain he had heard— the man could pin her creeping into the common room in the middle of the night, for Force's sake— and she had not stuttered which left one option, he was giving her a chance to retract the statement.

"It just, umm, nothing. It doesn't matter," she mumbled.

Eeth's eyebrows had a busy time this afternoon; they pulled together in a deep frown. "Padawan, it does matter," he said grimly. "Very much so. I have seen very few padawans who have failed to become knights and left the Order, and the most common reason for this was that they had given up on themselves. I will not allow you to do so. You have everything it takes to reach knighthood, and reach it you will, you have my word on that. Any more of this self-defeating, self-deprecating talk will have repercussions."

Although hearing that Eeth wasn't going to give up on her lessened the angst she felt, it still left one question…

"How can it be self-defeating, self-deprecating talk if it happens to be true?" she asked honestly.

"Nothing about it is true," Eeth snapped. "I am telling you so, and I expect you to listen. Most of your problems are caused by your unwillingness to trust those who are in charge of you. We have more knowledge, more wisdom, and more experience. Now would be an excellent time to start believing in what I am telling you."

Okay, so this comment had Raven cringing. She knew that it was hard for her to accept the authority of others, and that she had failed to do so yet again just now was cause for a groan. She wanted to argue that she did trust him, that of course she believed what he said, but his point had been made. Thus, "Yes, master," was all she said. Apparently, they were going to have to find another forty-two hours in her schedule to spend on these meditations.

And Eeth was going to help her with that. But first, it was time for a workout.


	11. Chapter 11

It had been one looooong boring-ass month for Raven. And what could be worse than all the community service, meditations and Force only knew what else she had endured? Only the fact that she still had two more months of this torture to get through! It felt like it was never going to be over, that she would never again go to the padawans' lounge or leave the Temple. Well, at least today she had some good news to bring home, and so Raven had stopped at the dining hall and picked up a couple of celebratory donuts. Eeth wasn't big on sugary stuff, but she had seen him eat these on rare occasions. Raven had already taken a couple of bites from her own on the way to their quarters, subsequently covering herself in sugar.

"Master, are you here?" Raven yelled, coming in the door.

"Yes, I am here," Eeth replied, putting his datapad aside and rising from the couch.

"Guess whattt?" the padawan announced, bouncing around the room, her smile all teeth.

"I never make guesses," said Eeth stiffly. "Just tell me."

"Where is the fun in that?"

"Padawan, just tell me," said Eeth firmly. "Unless it is not important?" He reached for his datapad.

"Wait, wait! It's totally important," Raven rushed, stopping him from picking up his data pad and ignoring his mood-killing comments. She set her half-eaten donut on the coffee table with the one she had brought for Eeth.

"I have donuts, but that isn't the best news. I also got 98% for my anatomy presentation!" Raven said, looking and sounding very pleased with herself. She liked any subject that was medical in nature, and it really did show in the results she received for those classes.

Eeth smiled. "Congratulations, padawan." He decided against hugging her, given the fact that she had donut crumbs and sugar all over her cloak, and merely patted her shoulder.

"98 out of 100. That is an excellent grade for such a difficult class. I see you made a real effort. This is an important step towards your mission eligibility." It would also do much to obtain Raven a favorable review after her probation period.

His comments on her mission eligibility garnered a disbelieving snort. Raven was certain that something else would pop up to set back her clearance. She was sure it was only a matter of time before whatever it was going to be next happened.

The snort had not escaped Eeth, and the smile on his face was quickly replaced by a scowl. "And what is that supposed to mean, padawan?" he said ominously.

The ticked-off tone of voice and scowl were noted, but Raven was honestly lost for words; she didn't have a clue how to answer that.

"I- I don't know," she finally managed, trying not to fidget.

"Oh, but I think you do," said Eeth brusquely. "Am I correct in assuming that you have a less than positive attitude about your chances of regaining your mission eligibility in the near future?"

Shit!

"No, master," Raven lied, not meeting his gaze. She contemplated the wisdom of offering him the donut now, but wasn't sure how he would respond to attempts at bribery.

Eeth's scowl deepened. This was a blatant lie, and he did not want his padawan to lie to him. Folding his arms across his chest, he asked in an even more ominous tone of voice: "Padawan, do you honestly expect me to believe that? Would you care to try that again?"

Eeth's transformation from pleased to positively pissed was like watching a speeder crash in slow motion, and Raven's insides went cold. Would she care to try that again? Hell, no, but nor did she care to make him any madder.

"I-it, might-have-been," she admitted, hating to be caught out but seeing no other option at this point in time.

"I see," Eeth said in a voice of deadly calm. "Then you may go to your room and write a hundred times 'There is nothing to prevent me from regaining my mission eligibility other than my self-defeating attitude'. And the next time such an attitude arises, I will add a sore bottom to the punishment."

Eeth rarely set lines as a punishment, but he had absolutely no patience with self-pity or needless pessimism. In his opinion, a padawan who had just earned a score of 98 out of 100 and still considered the idea of ever regaining her mission eligibility ridiculous needed an attitude correction. And since Eeth was not the cuddly type; his idea of an attitude correction reflected that.

"But, wait! I just got 98% and you're punishing me. That's really not fair." It was a long shot, and a risky long shot at that! But then, the sentence Eeth had assigned wasn't exactly short either; it would take her ages to finish that and she really didn't want to spend an hour writing. Raven had trouble sitting still at the best of times. Sitting around writing the same thing over and over was pure torture for the padawan, especially since it wasn't even going to count towards her hours of community service!

"I am not punishing you for getting 98% in your exam, and you know it," snapped Eeth. "What am I punishing you for?"

Raven folded her arms, copying Eeth's stance and posture to perfection. "Because you believe I have a self-defeating attitude," she replied, clearly displeased with the way this conversation was going. "But… you aren't being reasonable about this. You can't punish me over that, it's ridiculous."

"Do you want to make it two hundred?" Eeth asked icily.

"No, master," Raven said in a whiny tone, her do-or-die Eeth-like posture slumping slightly in defeat. This was unfair, but the padawan knew by now that stating as much would not go over well. Thus, she picked up the donut and handed it to him. "C'mon, I got you a donut, doesn't that count for anything?"

"Thank you for your consideration, padawan," Eeth said, accepting the donut, "but I fail to see what this donut has to do with the kind of destructive, self-defeating attitude that earned you your lines. If you manage to pull such an attitude after having received a nearly perfect score in an exam, you are in sore need of an attitude adjustment. Go write your lines."

Okay, so bribery had failed. Still, Raven wanted to argue, really, she did! However, if the past was anything to go by, this would only result in more punishment and so she refrained.

"Fine," Raven replied instead and grumbled about the unfairness of such a childish punishment all the way to her room.

"What am I, like, FIVE!" she complained, palming her door shut with more force than necessary and storming to her desk. This was not how Raven had envisioned her afternoon panning out.

Eeth frowned at this little outburst, strode towards the door and palmed it open again. "What are you, five?" he asked severely.

Alright, so Raven guessed that she had that coming… That didn't stop the glare she aimed at him, though. Eeth had never made her do this before. It was a baby's punishment and made her even more ashamed, if such a thing were possible. Raven sat at her desk, took out a datapad and scratched the line down a few times: yep, this was going to take forever! Moreover, for a padawan who struggled to focus and sit still, this punishment was truly torture.

And Eeth assumed as much. But then, she really needed to learn this lesson, especially in light of the progress she was soon going to make in her training. Besides, he had arrangements to make. Thus, he sat down at the terminal in the common room and got to work.

After about forty-five minutes, Raven threw the stylus down and rubbed at her hand. She was struggling with this and could have cried upon realising that there were still about forty more to go. Kicking the table in frustration, the padawan stood up and stretched out her legs before falling back.

Eeth picked up on Raven's frustration and took pity on her, partly because he was really quite pleased with her performance in the exam. He knocked at her door and called: "We can take a break and go out for lunch if you like!"

Raven shot up from the bed like a spring, sending the stylus still clutched in her hand flying in the process. She was at the door in a heartbeat. "I'm ready," she said, looking very pleased to have gotten out of doing any more writing.

Eeth looked down on her in quiet amusement. "You are not getting out of this, padawan," he said with a slight smile. "But it is high time for lunch anyway. How many lines have you left to do?"

Raven had suspected as much and her shoulders slumped a bit; she had dared to hope that he had let her off the hook.

"Forty-two…" She gave him a put-upon look. "Master, c'mon. This really isn't fair."

"Is it not?" Eeth asked evenly. "How so?"

"Because, it's, well ... Boring and pointless and I don't want to do it. Don't you think I have enough class work, Council work and other work to do already?" she whined.

"The fact that you do not want to do it makes it an effective punishment," Eeth said, still in that even tone of voice. "I told you in no uncertain terms that there will be repercussions if you continue to indulge the negative attitude that you have been developing. You have been warned. If you want to avoid the additional work, change the attitude. Now, do you want to go to the dining hall, or would you prefer to continue writing?"

Raven glared at him, hoping that her silent brooding would be an acceptable response to his question. She knew it was pushing it to try this approach, but well, she wasn't exactly happy with his answer, either.

Silent brooding was never an acceptable way to answer a direct question, in Eeth's book. Nor was a glare.

"Fine," he said curtly. "Then go finish your lines. We may go to the dining hall afterwards, if you manage to talk to me respectfully then."

"Aww, wait, no. I am being respectful. Please master, don't be like this. I'm sorry, really!" And Raven really was now!

"Any more backtalk, and the discussion will continue with you over my knee," Eeth, who was running out of patience, growled. "Pouting, whining and sulking have never got you anywhere, so I do not know why you even try."

He pointed a firm finger towards her desk.

Raven stiffened at the threat, and then, despite knowing it was stupid to push him further, stomped in frustration.

"Yes, master." she replied, if only to take the edge off her outburst, and stalked off for her desk. This afternoon was just getting worse and worse!

Before she had taken more than a step from the door, Eeth grabbed her shoulders from behind, bent her over and applied three scorching swats to her behind.

Okay, so apparently, things could get worse, a lot worse… Raven tensed up but did not fight him.

"Oww!" That had hurt. Then again, it usually did.

"You have made considerable progress with reining in your temper," Eeth said sternly. "However, you are doing a poor job showing it today. Now do what I told you, without the attitude."

"Yes, master," Raven repeated, only this time she was sulking, not angry. She was also horrified with herself over having lost her composure over a few swats. Sure, they had been pretty spectacular and stung, but honestly, it wasn't a full-on smackdown or anything. Without further comment, the padawan straightened up and raced for her chair in a flash. With a smarting ass and another hour or so of writing lines to look forward to, the girl was positively sulking. Facing away from Eeth, Raven dropped her head into the crook of her elbow, and started working.

Eeth silently stepped behind her, put a hand on her head and sent a surge of encouragement and affection through their bond.

"You will survive, padawan," he said surprisingly kindly. "Come see me when you are done."

With this, he left her to her arduous task. And he was well aware how arduous a task it was for an active girl like Raven; but if there was anything he wanted to discourage her from, it was her self-defeating attitude, and he was not beyond trying new approaches to reach this goal.

"Yes, master, I know," Raven replied, her sniffles now reduced to a resigned pout thanks to his reassurance. It was nice to hear she would survive, because sometimes it sure as hell didn't feel like she would.

The padawan wrote for another hour solidly until her hand began to cramp up again. With ten more to go she dropped the stylus, and let her forehead hit the desk with a thud.

"Masterrrr, pleeeeeease? I am sorry, I'll never do it again, really!" she begged across their bond.

By this stage, Raven did not expect him to let her off the remainder, but she was willing to try pushing for lunch: her ass hurt, her hand was aching and she was sick to death of sitting at her desk.

Eeth thought that what he sensed from his padawan came close enough to real distress to give her a reprieve.

He entered her room and lifted her up from her chair.

Oh no, Force! Not again! Raven thought as Eeth lifted her from the seat. She was fully expecting another few swats as a reminder to follow his instructions.

Instead, Eeth wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "Did you learn anything from this, padawan?" he asked gently.

Did she learn anything? Absolutely, that pissing off Eeth never ended well. Thankfully, she kept that part to herself, and managed a slightly more acceptable answer.

"That there is nothing to prevent me from gaining mission eligibility other than my defeatist attitude … and perhaps turning to the Dark Side from the consequences…"

Eeth actually had to chuckle at that. "Force forbid," he said. "Alright, you have suffered enough. But I will not relent so easily a second time. If you dare suggest again that you will never regain mission eligibility, you will write a full hundred lines on a very sore bottom. Am I clear on that?"

"Yes, master, clear." Raven nodded to add emphasis. She was as glad to have this over with as she was for the moment of closeness. Besides, after she had just completed a novel worth of lines, Eeth's threat carried far more clout than it had the first time around.

"Alright. Let us consider the matter closed, then," Eeth replied. "I was thinking of going out into the city in order to celebrate your outstanding exam results."

They spent an enjoyable afternoon. After a late and quick but nonetheless tasty lunch, Eeth took Raven to an exhibition in the Senate sector. They had dinner at a Careenian place with a gorgeous view of the Temple. Eeth had no difficulties getting Raven to bed that night; she could barely stay awake during evening meditation and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The following Sunday, Raven made her way to the Temple's hangar bay. It was the final day of master She'am's class, and it was meant to be spectacular. All of his classes had been amazing, which was why Sunday morning had fast become her favourite time of the week. Besides, they had been a welcome break from all the boring work she had to do lately.

This week was no exception!

"That. Was. Freakin. Awesome!" she said to an equally enthusiastic, albeit slightly less exuberant Kyle as their group exited the turbo lifts.

"You're just saying that because Cheeto got shot instead of you," he snorted.

"Am not," she shot back.

"Are too!"

"AM Not!"

"What are you two, five?" Toman interrupted the two, cuffing Kyle up the back of the head as their group entered the padawans' lounge.

"Diner again?" Arranxal questioned, shooting a glance around the group.

"Yeah, this time it's Ravens shout. You still got those three fivers you scammed out of us?" he asked.

"Of course, but..." Raven trailed off. "Eeth's back," she finished, as if the statement needed no further explaining.

"Ah, so no more easy street, hey?" Toman joked. "Well, call me if you can come and we'll wait for you at the stop, but don't go getting yourself into trouble," he warned.

"Yeah, despite thinking you're hardcore for taking on the Council's wrath, you're on probation, so don't blow it," Kyle added.

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Worry about your own asses, I can take care of my own," she shot back with a grin and took off for their quarters.

Ten minutes later, an excited padawan entered the quarters she shared with Eeth and went directly for their cooler where she removed a cold pack and stuck it on her forearm.

Spotting Eeth at the table working on a report, she placed the pack onto her left forearm and moved to stand in front of him, huge grin firmly in place.

"Padawan," Eeth said, looking up and smiling at her. His eyes strayed to the cool pack and then returned to her face, giving her a questioning look.

"I had an argument with Kyle's foot… It's a long story," she said, inclining her head slightly in way of greeting. "Don't block kicks," she repeated She'am's advice after having sustained that injury.

Eeth rose and examined her arm. "You definitely should have dodged that," he said a little absent-mindedly. "It is only a contusion, though. You were lucky."

He rested his hand on the bruise that was forming on her forearm and let healing energy flow into the damaged tissue.

"Yeah, I know. It was a reflex." At least, this was Raven's excuse and she was sticking to it. The relief was almost instantaneous, and not for the first time, the padawan was appreciative of Eeth's ability to use Force-aided healing.

"I might have a request that I really want you to say yes to," she hedged, leaning her hip into the table. Naturally, Raven wasn't suicidal; if he said no, she wasn't going to argue or try sneaking out! Still, if she didn't ask, she would never know and you really did have to be in it to win it. Besides, one day off the community service would be a welcome reprieve.

"If it is about tonight, the answer is no, padawan," Eeth said without looking up from his work. "I have other plans for us."

"Is that your final answer?" Raven hedged, tracing the pattern on their tablecloth with her finger. "It's just that our group is going to one of the diners nearby, and it's got pool tables and games, it's the best fun!" she added, knowing that his plans would probably involve work of some description.

Eeth's plans did indeed involve work of some description, although Eeth doubted that it would be work that Raven was going to resent.

"Yes, it is my final answer," Eeth said, his mouth quirking upwards very slightly. "What we are going to do tonight – or rather, what you are going to do – is hopefully going to make up for it, though. Please call your friends and tell them you cannot come because your excessively strict and demanding master is making you build your own lightsaber. Then we need to get going."

Raven's jaw almost hit the floor as she stared at him, dumbfounded. "Master, please, if this is a joke, it's so not funny," she said. Of course, Eeth rarely joked about anything, even stuff that she actually considered amusing, so that this was the case was very unlikely. Still! "You're freakin' serious?"

"I would not make jokes about such a serious matter," Eeth replied somewhat severely. "Now go and make your comm call. I have one of the Force-proof workshops reserved for us and all the material you will need. This might take the rest of today and part of the night or even longer, depending on how much time you need, so I have excused you from tomorrow's classes. I would prefer for us to get going soon, since Master She'am's class ended later than I had hoped."

For once, Raven was honestly lost for words and only managed a mute nod in response.

She couldn't even recall later what she had told Toman; Force, who cared in hindsight!? Building one's own lightsaber was an extremely significant, important event on the road to becoming a Jedi knight. It was the second major rite of passage, and that Eeth was allowing it now, well… Maybe her chances at regaining mission clearance, at becoming a knight weren't just pie in the sky as she secretly believed?

Ten minutes later, Raven had washed her face and thrown on a clean uniform. "Thank you for healing my arm," she said, because the shock of his announcement had seen her miss this basic courtesy.

"You are welcome," said Eeth gently. He knelt down and rested his hand on her shoulders, causing his padawan to straighten and look him in the eye.

"Padawan, you are ready for this," he said quietly. "You have always had a high aptitude for the physical aspects of wielding a lightsaber. Your control of the Force has much improved, as has the control you have over your emotions. You are not perfect yet, but you are learning. I was much impressed that you were able to contact me during my mission. Working with Lakhri has done you a lot of good. Having a real lightsaber will help you advance further in your training. It is also a big responsibility, and I expect you to live up to it. I know you are able to if you exercise the necessary self-discipline."

Hearing again that Eeth was impressed that she had managed to contact him on Antar had Raven smiling, despite trying to accept the praise humbly. What he said next, however, had her expression uncharacteristically serious.

"I know, I promise I will be responsible. I won't let you down," Raven told him. And this wasn't just empty assurances; she really meant it. This was a huge deal, a privilege at her age; there were many padawan's who were forced to wait for much longer. That Eeth thought her ready for this had Raven struggling to keep her exuberance in check.

"Good," Eeth said, giving her a tiny smile while rising to his feet. "Then let us get going."

The Temple held a number of workshops dedicated to the task of building or repairing lightsabers. Access control was strict; they needed to pass by a human and a droid guard as well as several control panels. The potential for misuse of the highly potent components stored here was just too high.

Finally, Eeth led Raven into a small workshop that held a meditation corner, a workbench and a shelf of components. On the workbench they found a tray with about two dozen kyber crystals.

Eeth told Raven to shed her robe and boots. Then he pointed her to the meditation mats in the corner.

"The first step," he explained, "is to enter a meditative trance. You will have to keep up this trance during the first part of the procedure, which involves selecting the correct components. This may take half an hour or five hours, but that does not matter. What is important is that you find the right crystals, the shape of hilt that suits you most and so forth. When that is completed, I will guide you through the steps of assembly. The crystals are the first component you will choose. Most sabers contain three, but there are variations. Some contain only one or two. The Force will guide you. I will provide help if needed, but the actual choice is yours. Are you ready?"

Okay, so Raven could follow those instructions, she was sure of it. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Besides, she had maintained a meditative trance for hours while searching for Eeth's presence on Antar, so surely this couldn't be much worse … could it?

Raven swallowed as the memory of Lakhri practically forcing her to focus sprang to mind, and her brow furrowed. She wanted to tell Eeth that she sucked at this, and that it was Lakhri who had done all the work, but at the same time, Raven knew Eeth wasn't stupid. Surely if she wasn't ready, he'd tell her. Force, blatant honesty was one thing she could really count on from him. It was with that in mind that the padawan lifted her chin.

"Yes, master, I'm ready."

Eeth guided Raven into a light meditative trance, then brought her the tray of kyber crystals and demonstrated how to connect with them and discern their qualities through the Force. He left it to her to choose those that matched her Force signature best. This was the hardest part, and not a choice he could make for her.

Reaching out her senses and allowing the Force to guide her, Raven sat quietly by herself for a good hour before anything happened.

"I know which!" she started to say, only to groan as the conviction drained from her as fast as it had arrived.

"Ugh!"

Had the girl not just completed two hours of work on the perils of owning a self-defeating attitude, things might have been different. As it was, it took quite some time before she eventually felt that pull once again, and this time, she remained silent and focused! This wasn't just about Raven choosing a rock here. Each kyber crystal was uniquely in tune with the Force in such a way that they were almost sentient, and they were able to communicate with each other and with living beings; the crystal needed to choose her also.

It was hard to judge how much time had passed before she eventually felt that connection again. Stretching tentative fingers across the selection, Raven reached out and grasped two crystals. Each positively glowed both physically and through the Force. Again, Raven didn't risk saying a word. Instead, she opened her eyes and looked over to where Eeth had sat to observe, the two glowing crystals rapidly darkening in colour as they hovered centimetres above her palm.

"Very good," Eeth praised. He guided Raven through the process of selecting the other parts and then allowed her to resurface from her trance. By this time, it had become dark outside, but for once, schedules and bedtimes were of no importance. Eeth and Raven took the parts she had selected to the workbench where Eeth showed her how to fit the crystals into the hilt and arrange the parts of the plasma generator.

Assembling the weapon also took quite a long time, as most of it had to be done using the Force only. Raven had no idea how long she was at this as by now; she had well and truly lost the concept of time. What was clear, though, was that her focus was absolute; she was practically sweating from the concentration involved. However, given the amount of effort she had put into improving this aspect of her training lately, it was not beyond her abilities.

Finally, Eeth said: "Well, this should do it. Would you like to try it out?"

"Force, yes! Only …" Raven trailed off, her nose wrinkling as she got to her feet and stretched. "What if it doesn't work?" She'd be absolutely gutted, that was what! Sure, Eeth had overseen the construction which meant failure was virtually impossible, but then, Raven was going through a stage where her failures were beginning to affect her confidence.

"Then we will fix it," Eeth said matter-of-factly. "I think it will work, though. After all, I supervised the assembly. I made sure you did not invert the emitter matrix, so I can promise you your saber will neither short out nor explode. Unless one of the parts is broken, which rarely happens, it should work just fine."

Ever since her first day of chemistry as a youngling, explosions were something Raven tried to avoid at all costs. The memory made her smile in spite of the seriousness.

She took the weapon in her dominant hand, rolling the hilt to get a feel for the weight. It was heavier than her padawans' saber, but not so much that it would take long to adjust. Perhaps a few fumbles to begin with, or so she assumed.

Raven had waited for this moment for so long that she actually hesitated, not wanting to thumb her saber to life. What if she had misread the Force and the crystals were wrong? Or worse, the crystals were right, but a part was faulty and she fried them! Ugh, no, the former was impossible as she had felt them hum herself, and the latter was unlikely at best. This insecurity had to stop. Raven closed her eyes and released her emotions into the Force. This took a few minutes but if her master was displeased, he said nothing of his feelings.

"Right, let's do this thing," Raven said, more to herself than Eeth, and then she closed her eyes and thumbed the ignitor.

What happened next was like nothing Raven could explain using words. The raw Force connection between weapon and wielder was so strong that the padawan almost dropped it in shock; she had never experienced anything like this before, and she liked it. Tentatively, she opened her eyes and was met with a brilliant blue-green blade. It wasn't a pure colour like Eeth's, but then, lightsabers tended to change colour as their wielder developed certain skills. She looked to Eeth for instructions, her expression a mix of shock and pride in her achievement.

Eeth smiled with pride and affection. He remembered all too well the moment he had first ignited his own saber. It was a special, once-in-a-lifetime feeling.

"Let us go to the gym," he said. "You cannot wield the saber in this confined space. To make it really your own, you need to use it."

He knew that Raven was exhausted, but that was part of the experience. It was a draining ritual even for padawans with a higher level of proficiency at Force control and meditation. Raven had done well.

Raven was on a high as she followed Eeth to the gym. Not only had she just constructed her very own lightsaber, but it was almost midnight and Eeth had not once said anything about her curfew or going to bed. In fact, they were just entering a gym, which was another first for her!

By now the girl was practically bursting with excitement, and it took every ounce of self-control to temper the emotion so Eeth would actually allow her to ignite her saber again. Raven was not worried about hurting Eeth; Force, she rarely got close enough to score a point, least of all warrant a missing limb. That said, nor was she competent at wielding the new blade, and she really, really did not want to drop it … No, dropping it was not going to happen! Still, she looked up at Eeth who had taken up a position opposite her. "I'm tired, don't let me fry myself or anything," she said. Two reasons: firstly, she wanted Eeth to know she was treating her weapon with respect, and secondly, she really was tired. Not that Raven cared. Force, the girl would have stayed up for a week solid for this moment!

"That would be part of my job description, yes," Eeth replied drily. "Start with a kata. Do it slowly and blend in with the flow of the Force. Let your saber guide you."

At first Raven didn't quite know what he meant by 'let your saber guide you.' However, after a little prompting, and twenty minutes' practice, she was truly bonding with the crystals inside her weapon. It was as if the lightsaber was becoming an extension of herself, far more so than with any training blade. Closing her eyes, the padawan progressed from first to second kata, and then through the third and fourth. She was avoiding aerial techniques for now, and for once, was content to simply drift along with the movements.

"Very good," Eeth praised, pleased that his assessment of Raven's level of skill had been correct and that his padawan was indeed well able to use her new weapon. "Let us do some sparring, then. Very slowly. You attack only, I defend."

Raven had yet to wipe the grin from her face since first igniting her weapon, and now was no exception. Careful to follow her master's instructions, the padawan lunged forward with a basic two-point attack. Then, feeling a little braver, she spun to add a third strike aimed to her master's midsection. There was no desire to score a point, nor was there a need to prove herself. At the moment, Raven was simply happy to be with her master and share such a significant moment in her life with him.

Eeth worked Raven to the point of exhaustion and a little past that, for being allowed to build one's lightsaber was more than a change of weapon, it was a rite of passage; and part of the ritual was about testing and overcoming one's own limitations. He led her through hours of exercises, sparring and kata, watching her gain more and more confidence and wield her new weapon with increasing prowess.

It was approaching five in the morning before the padawan even considered asking for a break. She was exhausted both physically and mentally. Much to her mortification, she could not help but notice that Eeth appeared to look no worse for the wear.

Raven had her flaws, but she was tenacious and certainly did not give up easily when it came to her physical training, which was why it pained her to do this. As she twirled her saber into a ready position for what felt like the billionth time that day, she met Eeth with what she hoped was a brave expression.

"Master, I don't know how you're doing it, but will you think I'm some sort of crèche baby if we, perhaps, have a break?" she asked, hating herself for having to admit that her endurance was not yet remotely able to match his.

"I promise I'll take back all those comments about you being old and, well … old!" said Raven, not realising in her tired state that her backhanded compliment may not be taken as one.

Eeth was actually pleasantly surprised that Raven had held out for this long. This had been a test of sorts, and she had passed it.

He smiled. "Old or not, I am obviously better at drawing on the Force to keep me going. So is Master Yoda, by the way, who should definitely qualify as 'old'. Alright. We will return to our quarters and perform the finishing meditation of this ritual. Then you may go to bed and, for once, sleep in."

"Sleep in? Alright, who are you and what have you done with my master?!" Raven demanded to know, although she had a slight smile on her face. She did enjoy teasing him.

"Even I would not expect you to go to classes after having lost a full night's sleep," Eeth said evenly. "Come on. Meditation."

The idea of more meditation horrified the girl, and despite knowing bed wasn't far away, she couldn't help but slump.

"But what if my head explodes?" she asked half-heartedly, hoping to forgo the meditation in lieu of bed.

"Oh, I daresay it will not come to that," Eeth said unsympathetically. "Building your first lightsaber is an important ritual and we are going to do it properly. I have never claimed it was going to be easy."

He led Raven back to their quarters and to the meditation mats below their window.

"We are going to meditate with our lightsabers ignited," he explained. "This will greatly increase your Force awareness and focus. I will show you how to forge a stronger connection between yourself and your saber. This is a meditation we will perform regularly from now on. Most Jedi consider it an enjoyable experience."

Ordinarily anything new would have Raven's utter and undivided attention. This morning, however, she was exhausted. Still, she wasn't about to gripe about it; this was important and she wanted to get it right even if that meant she fell asleep on her saber. Although the sun was up outside, and the traffic would have increased, their opaque and soundproof windows meant that Raven had no such distractions. So it was that she knelt on her mat, unclipped her saber – she did enjoy any excuse to do that – and waited for instructions.

Eeth knew perfectly well what he was putting Raven through, but it was an important part of this step in her training. Soon, she would be entrusted with missions that would leave her little time for sleep, and she would need to draw on the Force in order to stay alert, or even to merely stay upright, at times. He had her hold her saber upright in front of her and ignite it. When she had entered a meditative trance, which required a few stern words, he guided her through the pattern that would allow her to draw on the Force to replenish her reserves, providing her with just enough energy to make it through the meditation.

"Alright," he finally said, pulling from the trance. "We will practice this further on other occasions. Obviously, you need to be exhausted for this exercise to make any sense. It is better to learn how to do this at the Temple than under field conditions. That is one of the reasons for which this is part of the ritual of building one's lightsaber."

He disignited his saber, waited until she had done the same and pulled her into a brief hug.

"You just completed an important step in your training," he said quietly. "I am proud of you. You did well. And now, off to bed with you."

Raven looked at her watch and was thankful that Eeth was letting her sleep. It was well past the time he would usually be waking her, after all. It had been a hard night, harder than anything she had done before, but it had also been the most fulfilling task she had ever performed.

"Yes, master, and thanks," Raven said with as much sincerity as she could possibly muster in her exhausted state. Despite knowing it would make him uncomfortable, she wrapped her arms around his middle, hugging him tightly. Raven kept this brief for his sake, yet her smile was still wide as she released him and took off for her bedroom.

She actually made it to her room and managed to place the saber in her bedside drawer before pulling off her trousers and tunic. The boots proved to be a little more challenging, though, and two minutes later Raven had passed out sideways on her bed, one boot on and one off.

Eeth looked in on Raven a few minutes later and found her asleep, half-undressed, with a boot still on. With an unusually affectionate smile, which was probably due to the fact that no one was watching, he pulled off the remaining boot, rolled her over onto her bed and covered her with a blanket.

He slept for an hour himself. That had to suffice. After all, he had work to do! True to his word, he let Raven sleep in. After a long meditation and a short breakfast, he busied himself reading reports and writing memos.

Raven did not move for several hours, and had it not been for a maintenance droid cleaning the outside of her window, the padawan would have slept all day.

"Argh, no, come on... Go AWAY!" she grumbled pulling the pillow over her head. However, when it neither moved nor stopped with the incessant squeaking (which wasn't very loud at all, but still!) Raven pulled off her socks, fashioned them into a missile, and pelted them into the window with a satisfying thud! The droid detached three of its eight suction cups in fright, not that Raven could see this through the tinting, and then it moved on to clean another window.

Finally it was quiet again. Raven rolled onto her back and stretched long. "NO. CLASSES. TODAYYYY! YES!" she said through a yawn and reached into her drawer to make sure that her saber was still there and that she had not dreamt the whole thing.

Eeth thought he heard a commotion from Raven's room towards noon and went to investigate. Knocking on her door, he called: "Padawan? Are you awake?"

"Maybe," Raven answered. Despite this obvious lie, she sat up in her bed and rubbed at her eyes.

Eeth shook his head. Much as Raven undoubtedly enjoyed having a day off school, she still needed to complete a few assignments sent in by her teachers and then he was going to take her to the gym for another extensive practice session with her new saber.

"I take that to mean 'yes'," he called. "Please get up and get ready for the day, then."

"Slave driver," she replied quietly through a yawn and went to do as instructed. And it was a good thing, too, as Raven looked a mess. Her hair resembled a haystack, and as far as she could tell, she smelled of sweaty socks. As if that weren't bad enough, her stomach let out a long, loud growl that could have been heard in the next room.

Fifteen minutes later, Raven emerged. She was dressed in a clean training uniform and her hair was pulled into a neat ponytail because even after a full year of growing, there was still not enough length to do much else with it.

"No classes!" she announced, entering their common room with a huge, shit-eating grin on her face. "And you have no Council work either?" Because that would be perfect!

Eeth smiled at her.

"I have already done most of it," he replied. "Would you prefer to have breakfast, or would you rather skip breakfast and have lunch right away?"

"Can we go to the dining hall and eat lunch?" Raven asked, then added on, "And maybe we can go for a swim too? I haven't been in forever."

Eeth hesitated for a moment. Then he said, "We are going to have a somewhat full afternoon. You have some classwork to do, and I am planning on taking you to the gym again. If we want to fit in a trip to the pools, we will have to make it a quick lunch. Hence, we will eat in our quarters, right now. And since you should not swim right after having eaten, you may complete one assignment after lunch, and then we will go swimming. You may do the rest of your assignments after our return. We will go to the gym for another round with your new saber after dinner."

Okay, so getting out of classwork altogether had probably been too much to hope for. Raven sighed. Well, she still had her lightsaber, which meant it was going to take more than a bit of work to crash her mood.

Lunch was a standard affair, and afterwards Raven sprawled herself out on their common room floor to work on her assignment. It didn't take long before she was distracted, though. It was hard not to be after having just built her own lightsaber, after all! A hand lowered to brush the hilt. The way her fingers wrapped around the weapon and sunk into the grip really was perfection, even if they had yet to develop groves from use. She looked towards Eeth's bedroom where the man was busy doing something, ran a finger along the igniter and contemplated powering it on. That thought was quickly abandoned when Eeth exited, and she almost dropped her datapad getting back to her homework.

"I hope you were not thinking about igniting your saber in our common room," Eeth said, raising his eyebrows at Raven. "That is acceptable for meditation, when I am there to supervise. Otherwise, the only appropriate place within the Temple to ignite it is the gym, and until I give you clearance, you will not do so unless I am present."

"Uh, no," Raven rushed to say, but the guilt was obvious in her expression.

Eeth gave her a pointed look but did not comment. "Finish your work," he merely said.

Raven couldn't say that she enjoyed the classwork. It was hard to concentrate when all she was thinking about was her new lightsaber, their up and coming gym workout and going swimming. After about an hour of slogging away, the padawan finally finished the assignment and jumped up from her spot on their common room floor.

"Done! Can we go?" There was no point trying to hide her exuberance, and so Raven did not.

Eeth looked up from his own datapad and smiled. "We may," he said. "Fetch your bathing suit and a towel and let us get going."

He had regularly taken Raven to the main pool area. They had mostly gone swimming. Today, he headed for the recreational area that held slides, bubble pools and jet streams, assuming that this was what Raven would prefer. He had no objections against indulging her occasionally, especially since they had a workout scheduled for tonight anyway.

"Do whatever you like," Eeth said, thinking that he might go for a vigorous swim while Raven had her fun.

"Whatever I like?" Raven grinned at that statement.

"I think that that one looks like a worthy challenge, and, I think that you need to come, too," she said, pointing and craning her neck to see the top of the massive structure standing in the middle pool. "Will you, pleeeease?" Raven hoped he would, because her fun was not nearly as enjoyable unless her not-so-fun-loving master went along for the ride.

Eeth was not the type to go sliding just for fun, but he was aware that his padawan had different standards of 'fun' (including knowledge of the meaning of the word, Lakhri would have said).

"If you would like me to," he said indulgently. "Beware, this slide is fast."

The girl did a double-take. Raven had fully expected her straight-laced master to decline. He had not, and she was elated at hearing he was going to try it on.

"Don't be scared, master, I'll go first of you like," she teased, because it was always enjoyable making fun of Eeth in this manner.

Eeth glared at her but did not comment. He joined Raven in her activities for about twenty minutes and then went off to have a swim by himself while she joined some friends, no doubt to regale them with the news of her very own lightsaber.

"Unbelievable," said Cheeto after hearing Raven's news. "You defied the Council, and your master lets you build a lightsaber." It wasn't that he resented her for that, not really… Still, he had been late in building his own and couldn't help but feel that the twelve-year-old sprawled out on a towel before him didn't understand how much of a big deal that was.

"Well, yeah, he did. I am ready for it." She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him. "You disagree?"

Cheeto shrugged. "I suppose your master must have known what he was doing," he said, glancing towards the pool where Eeth was plowing through the waves. "Still. That was unexpected, to say the least."

At this, Raven stood up and pulled the towel around her shoulders. Cheeto was only two years older than her, so perhaps it had taken him longer to build his saber, or he had had a harder time of it, or maybe he was just making an observation. Whatever the reason, it did not sully her mood; nothing short of a full-scale Temple catastrophe could accomplish that right now. Wanting to change the subject, and eager to blow off a little more steam before the fun police (namely, Eeth) dragged her home, Raven gestured towards the pool where Eeth was swimming up a storm.

"Wanna see something really cool?"

Cheeto raised his eyebrows. "Other than your master making it from one end of the pool to the other in five nanoseconds?" he asked. "Sure, why not?"

Raven grinned, shucked her towel and pulled her hair back.

"Er, what exactly are you planning on doing here?" Cheeto asked upon noticing that Raven looked as if she were preparing to go into war.

In response, Raven gave him a mischievous grin, and then crouched, pantha-style, by the pool's edge just as Eeth passed by on the far side. Of course, he would most definitely suspect something was afoot if she lingered too long, which was why barely a second after he crossed the centerline, Raven reached out with the Force, jumped high and pounced. Eeth was going down. The only thing that remained to be seen was his reaction to her attempted ambush, and how much water would go up her nose in the process.

Eeth sensed her coming, of course. However, he was swimming too fast to change course, and he was definitely not going to allow his padawan to land on top of him. Thus, he dove deep and, as she hit the water above him, pushed up just hard enough to ensure that Raven was flung into the air.

Laughing the entire way, Raven landed with a splash three lanes over, her head popping up seconds later. She was still chuckling despite having caught the expected nose full of water in the process. That had been on par with the water slide, even if she had not succeeded in catching him off guard.

Eeth caught the edge of the pool and pulled himself up.

"What was that, padawan?" he demanded to know.

Raven blasted the water out of her nose one nostril at a time, and then she swam to the opposite side.

"I was just keeping you on your toes. I can't have you getting lazy, you know?" She gave him a grin that was all teeth and pulled herself up on the edge. She could ask to do it again, but that was probably pushing it.

"Padawan, if you are getting bored, we can go home any time," Eeth said firmly. "There are still three assignments waiting for you."

Bored? Force, that was far from boring. Yet if Eeth's tone was anything to go by, Raven guessed that any kind of smart-ass response might mean doing just that. Thus, she coughed to clear her throat, and got to her feet.

"I'll go entertain myself," she said quickly, and after flashing a quick grin at Cheeto, she took off like a shot before he could change his mind.

Eeth looked after her, an eyebrow raised. Then he turned without further comment and went back swimming.

That evening Raven helped with dinner. It was a spicy Corellian dish that Eeth often cooked when he had the time to do so. After all that had happened over the last two days, Raven was starving. She had, of course, learned not to serve herself more than she could eat, but this particular dish was one of her favourites, and so she piled two heaped spoonfuls onto her plate.

Eeth took his time eating. He, too, was hungry after his vigorous swim and he liked to eat slowly and savour his food if he had the time to do so. He served himself to a second helping after he was done with the first one.

Raven wasn't typically a fast eater but tonight she had been hungry and therefore had finished before Eeth for once. She sat quietly for a while and then began fidgeting.

"May I be excused," she asked, wanting to clear her plate away; her new saber still hung proudly from her belt and she was eager for them to get going to the gym.

Eeth looked up from his plate. "When I have finished, padawan," he said calmly. "As always. Are you that impatient to try out your new weapon?"

Raven huffed and started swinging her legs. Was she that transparent? Apparently so.

"Maybe I could try it out while you're finishing?" she suggested, unclipping her new weapon and putting it on the table where she could see it.

Eeth raised his eyebrows. "At the dining table?" he asked. "Certainly not."

Serenely, he took another bite from his nearly empty plate, clearly not in a hurry.

"Of course not at the dining table, unless …" Raven gave him a curious look. "You'd allow that?" She didn't think he would, but then, Eeth had surprised her before.

"Padawan, did you or did you not understand the rules I gave you?" Eeth inquired severely. He took the last bite off his plate and pushed it away, giving Raven a questioning look.

Raven sighed. "That I can't be excused until you're finished? But you're done!" She pointed to his empty plate. Granted, Raven was being a smart-ass, although how well said smart-assery went over was often hit and miss.

Eeth frowned.

"If you cannot remember a simple set of rules concerning the use of your lightsaber, I might be better off confiscating it until you are ready to listen to me," he said, his face stern. As a matter of fact, he suspected that Raven was joking, but he still thought she should know that he was serious about this. Weapons rules were no laughing matter.

Raven's expression went from slightly smug to horrified in a heartbeat.

"Wait! What? No, I do remember. I was just messing with you, really," she said, backpedaling.

"And the rules are?" Eeth asked evenly.

Resigned, Raven let her head slump into her elbow, and slouched on the table.

"I am allowed to use my lightsaber for meditation when you are there to supervise. Other than that, the only appropriate place to ignite it is in the gym. And until you say otherwise, I can't do that either without your supervision," she paraphrased.

"Good," Eeth replied, perfectly calmly. "So that answers your question. You may help me clear the table and then we will go to the gym."

"Alright," she replied, refraining from calling him a spoilsport. She didn't think that hitting him with more cheek was wise considering he had just threatened to take her saber. Raven had gained mission clearance only to lose it, so it wasn't such a stretch of the imagination that the trend wouldn't continue with her lightsaber.

Saber practice was another highlight. However, Eeth was not going easy on her, and by the time their session was finished the padawan was absolutely shattered!

Before allowing her to turn in, Eeth insisted on having another practice session to help Raven master the technique of drawing on the Force to recover from fatigue. Tonight, she did a little better than last night. At least she managed to get both boots off before falling asleep upside down and sideways on the bed!

* * *

A/N: Thanks for having followed us thus far! We hope you enjoyed this story. As always, we're glad to hear what you think of it. Now that Raven has completed another important step on the road to knighthood, there will be more missions in her future. Stay tuned for our next story, "Ready for Action", which will involve Eeth, Raven, Lakhri, obnoxious royalty and lots of rain!


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